BICOM

The IDF yesterday deployed for the first time the Iron Dome rocket defence system in southern Israel. The Iron Dome system, made up of three launchers equipped with 30 interceptors and a multi-mission radar and control system, were set up a few kilometres apart in southern Israel. The IDF said that the system would be ready by Sunday afternoon and called the work an “experimental operation”. The city of Beersheba, which holds the largest population in the south, will be the first city to be protected by the system. The second battery is expected to be deployed near the coastal city of Ashkelon later this week. Residents of the smaller surrounding communities criticised the decision of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee to deploy the first battery in Beersheba, saying the whole area needs to be protected from rocket attacks

The recent barrage of rocket and missile attacks from Gaza over the last few weeks fast tracked the set up and implementation of the Iron Dome system. Army officials downplayed expectations, emphasising that the system was still in the evaluation stage and stressed that it will not yet provide full protection from rocket attacks. An IDF official also said that Israel can expect an increase in rocket fire from as Hamas and other groups in Gaza will try and test the capabilities of the system. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday spoke about the deployment and said, “Israel has been under the threat of missile attack for 20 years, since the first Gulf War. I don’t want to create the illusion that Iron Dome, which we are setting up for the first time today, will prove a full or comprehensive answer.” Netanyahu added that Israel holds Hamas responsible for the escalation in rocket attacks from the Gaza strip over the past few weeks.

In further news, the Israeli Air Force targeted a rocket firing squad in Gaza on Sunday killing two members of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group. Netanyahu, prior to the weekly Sunday cabinet meeting, said that Israel is not interested in escalating the violence in Gaza, but that attacks on Israel will not be tolerated.