Israel's Iron Dome lets through rockets fired by Palestinian militants

The Israeli military admitted that the Iron Dome shield malfunctioned and missed a Palestinian militant rocket, killing one person and injuring several others.

"There was a technical problem with the Iron Dome system, the interceptor was launched but did not hit the target. We are investigating the incident," Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on May 12, referring to a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip that hit a house in the Israeli city of Rehovot the day before, killing one person and injuring at least five others.

The rocket hit a third-floor apartment in Rehovot, leaving a large hole. Spokesman Hagari said the incident was an isolated incident and that Iron Dome batteries had shot down 91 percent of their targets since the conflict began in early May.

Israel's Iron Dome system intercepted rockets launched from the Gaza Strip on the night of May 11. Photo: AFP — Israel's Iron Dome system intercepted rockets launched from the Gaza Strip on the night of May 11. Photo: *AFP*

This is the second incident to hit Israel’s Iron Dome short-range air defense system in a week. The system failed to activate when Palestinian militants launched rockets from the Gaza Strip last week, sending several shells crashing into populated areas in Israel. One rocket hit a construction site in the city of Sderot, injuring three foreigners.

In May 2021, an Iron Dome battery in the port city of Ashkelon suffered a technical failure while responding to a massive rocket attack, causing many shells to pass through the air defense net and killing two people and injuring dozens.

A complete Iron Dome system consists of 3-4 launchers, each equipped with 20 Tamir interceptors, along with a warning and guidance radar, and a combat control and management system. Each Tamir missile costs about $40,000-100,000. Much of the Iron Dome's operations are automated to shorten response times and reduce the need for human operators.

Israel first deployed the Iron Dome in 2011, with Israeli and US officials saying each battery was capable of intercepting 85% of targets. That figure rose to 90% during the Gaza conflict a year later. However, the Israeli military has admitted that it is not capable of intercepting every rocket launched from the Gaza Strip.

In 2019, Hamas claimed to have found a way to neutralize the Iron Dome by launching a large number of rockets at a single target. General Yaakov Amidror, former head of the Israeli military intelligence research department, admitted that the shield had failed to defeat Hamas' "rocket rain", shooting down only 240 out of 690 projectiles.

Iron Dome's combat capabilities also appear to be limited against direct-fire or low-angle rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, where reaction times are too short and they cannot track targets obscured by terrain.

In addition to the threat posed by Palestinian militant tactics, Iron Dome systems also face logistical limitations when it comes to withstanding large-scale attacks in a short period of time. It is unclear how many Iron Dome batteries Israel has deployed, but the country has previously revealed plans to field a total of 15 complete systems.