On the morning of October 7, around 06:30 local time in Israel, air raid sirens went off warning citizens of an aerial attack. Such instances have had occurred in the past. However, this time it was different — this was a multi-pronged attack by Gaza-based militant group Hamas from land, sea and air.
Around 2,200 rockets were fired towards southern and central Israel, according to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Many of them were shot down by ‘Iron Dome’ defensive shield, while some landed in populated areas.
Iron Dome is a short-range anti-rocket, anti-mortar, and anti-artillery system with an intercept range of 2.5 to 43 miles and was developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems of Israel, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS). Israel has at least 10 Iron Dome batteries deployed throughout the country, each designed to defend a 60-square-mile populated area and can be moved as threats change, it noted.
