Iron Dome: Israel-Palestine war: What is Israel’s Iron Dome and its role in the recent attack

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Israelis to brace themselves for a long and difficult war. Netanyahu addressed the countrymen a day after Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, launched one of the broadest invasions on Israeli territory in 50 years.. Israel has responded with huge strikes on cities in the blockaded Gaza Strip, destroying dozens of buildings, as Hamas continued to fire rockets into Israel. More than 1,100 people have reportedly been killed in Israel and Gaza, authorities said. The death toll is expected to rise further.
Over the years, Israel has touted the success of its Iron Dome air defense system to thwart and destroy missile attacks. Iron Dome is widely regarded as Israel’s first line of defense. It is not yet clear how effective the system was in the recent attack given the number of rockets launched into Israel. Was the Iron Dome missile defense system apparently overwhelmed by the barrage of inexpensive but deadly missiles at the opening of the attack? There are certain social media posts that show Iron Dome destroying rockets fired by Hamas into Israel.

What is Iron Dome
Iron Dome is a missile defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, it was first deployed in the year 2011. The system is said to be capable of tackling missiles with ranges between 2.5 miles and about 43 miles.
According to Israel’s Ministry of Defense, it’s capable of successfully handling multiple rockets at a time. The Iron Dome is part of Israel’s Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), which has several other systems.
How does Iron Dome work
According to a report in The Hill, quoting Israel’s Ministry of Defense, “The Iron Domes uses multi-mission radar to detect what a rocket’s route is. The system’s command and control center analyzes the trajectory of the rocket and its estimated landing area.”
The launcher is said to receive the order to operate from the command and control unit to fire a rocket and intercept the incoming one. “The artificial intelligence component of the system determines if people would be in danger of the incoming missile. If a missile is not determined to be a threat, the system will let the rocket land,” adds the report.
US may send more interceptors for Iron Dome
The US is sending weapons and warships to support Israel. The Pentagon announced Sunday (October 8) that it was sending additional munitions to Israel and moving Navy warships closer to the country in a show of support. According to a report in the New York Times, the US defense secretary Lloyd Austin said that he had ordered the aircraft carrier Gerald R Ford and five guided-missile cruisers and destroyers, which are in the Mediterranean Sea, to the eastern part of the sea, near Israel. Officials said the ships were en route but would take a few days to arrive. The US officials reportedly declined to be more specific about particular weapons systems, but independent analysts said Israel would likely request more interceptors for its Iron Dome missile defense system as well as bombs and missiles for attack planes.