Iron Dome System Of Israel Shoots Down Rocket From The Sinai

Iron Dome System Of Israel Shoots Down Rocket From The Sinai

The Iron Dome of Israel shot down a rocket that was reportedly headed for the resort city of Eilat. The interception of the rocket, which came from the Sinai Peninsula, was the first time the missile defense system was used in protecting the city.

Witnesses indicated that they heard sirens after 1AM and explosions were heard near the city with the interception of the rocket. The last few years saw a number of rockets fired by Islamic militants into Eilat but have hit empty areas around the city.

The attack was claimed by an Islamic militant group, indicating that it was retribution for the death of four fighters in northern Sinai.

Reports indicated that a drone launched the missile that killed the militants. It also indicated that the strike was carried out with the coordination of Egypt. No confirmation or denial was made by the two governments although officials in Egypt indicated that no Israeli attacks were carried out inside their territory.

The Iron Dome was deployed by the Israeli military in Eilat last month following increasing tensions along the Egypt-Israel border. Egyptian forces constantly faced attacks from militants in Sinai.

The airport in Eilat was closed for two hours due to security assessments by the military last Thursday. The closure of the airport was reportedly due to a warning of a potential attack from Sinai, a former senior defense official of Israel revealed.

Jody Sirota, the Ministry of Tourism Information Center head of the city, indicated that some people did not have any idea on what to do after the sirens sounded. However, order was quickly restored.

The Iron Dome system was developed by Israel with financial help from the Americans. The first mobile units were deployed in 2011. The success rate of the Iron Dome system is reportedly at around 90 percent.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday August 14 2013, 4:46 AM EST. Ref: NY Times. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0