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IAF renews sorties over Gaza hitting dozens of targets; Palestinians report first deaths since cease-fire collapse; IDF says 50 rockets fired at Israel since 4 p.m.; Iron Dome intercepts six. Hours after rockets shattered the cease-fire and hit Gaza frontier communities, three loud explosions were heard over Tel Aviv, shortly before 11 p.m., for the first time in over a week. In total, the IDF said that 50 rockets were fired at Israel since 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday until around midnight. Six rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome rocket defense system. A spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on...

The IDF has confirmed that Hamas fired yet another rocket from Gaza towards the Red Sea Thursday morning. It is the fourth such launch in the past two days alone, part of a series of tests by the Islamist terrorist group to improve its rocket capabilities. "Moments ago, #IDF Active Defense system identified a rocket launch from central #Gaza into the sea for the 4th time in the past 24 hours," the IDF announced on its Twitter feed earlier this morning. "Indication suggests #Gaza terrorists are experimenting in order to increase rocket launching capabilities." Since the end of Operation Protective...

A leading Iranian cleric has threatened to “raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground” if Israel attacks the country over its nuclear program. Speaking in a televised public sermon in the capital Tehran, Ayatollah Ali Movahedi-Kermani boasted that “the Sejjil ballistic missile can hit and raise to the ground any place in Israel, as well as any America base in the region.” His comments were translated from Iranian Channel 1 by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Kermani, who serves as Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s official representative to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards, claimed that “none of...

RAFAEL unveils at Euronaval the C-DOME - close-in weapon system that provides a defensive shield for naval surface vessels, against multiple simultaneous ripple attacks. C-DOME suite comprises a 10-missile stack, packed in a vertical launch unit installed below deck. The system utilizes combat-proven Tamir interceptor missiles, and command and control, integrated with the ship’s surveillance and air defense radar. Photos: RAFAEL RAFAEL is extending the Iron Dome Counter-Rocket, Artillery and Mortar defense system to the maritime domain, to protect surface vessels from a wide range of threats, including ballistic trajectory and direct attack weapons. The navalized system dubbed ‘C-Dome’ is...

Barak 8 missile was successful in intercepting a missile that imitated the Yakhont anti-ship cruise missile. The Israel Navy has conducted a successful secret test of the Barak 8 missile, which is designed to defend ships from the much-vaunted Yakhont anti-ship cruise missiles, reports Channel 2. The Yakhont missiles are one of the greatest threats to the Navy's vessels, mostly because of their potential use by Syria and Hezbollah. The missile flies at a very high speed – almost the speed of sound – from the moment it is launched. The test was carried out with the cooperation of an...

The Iron Dome has only sold to one foreign country, whose identity is being kept secret by both sides. Normally, an advanced new weapon system with a battle-proven success rate of 90 percent would have global defense procurement agencies on the phone in minutes. But Israel's Iron Dome rocket interceptor is yet to prove a hit with buyers abroad. In terms of operational achievement, tested on the Gaza, Lebanese and Egyptian Sinai fronts, Iron Dome is unrivaled in the arms market. However its uniqueness - developed for a particular threat in a particular place - also limits its appeal to...

Eleven lawmakers backed by liberal advocacy group J Street either voted against or refused to vote in favor of increased funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which has been a critical life-saver during Hamas’s latest assault on the Jewish state. Congress overwhelmingly approved an emergency increase in funding for Iron Dome this month by a vote of 395 to 8. Three of the eight who voted against the funding increase are J Street-backed lawmakers. Another eight abstained from the pro-Israel vote and also are financially supported by the group. J Street’s political action committee (PAC) has already donated...

Gaza terrorists fired a barrage of rockets towards southern Israel on Wednesday night, just moments before one ceasefire was set to end and a new one to begin. The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted one rocket over the city of Netivot. Two other rockets exploded in the Sdot Negev region. […] The latest rocket fire came just before midnight, when a 72-hour ceasefire was set to end. Moments before midnight, Israel and the Palestinian Arabs agreed to extend the 72-hour ceasefire. …

As Israeli operations against Hamas wind down, here are seven insights into the month-long conflict: Missile shield: The superb performance of Iron Dome, the protective system that shot down nearly every Hamas rocket threatening life or property, has major military implications for Israel and the world. Its success signals that “Star Wars” (as opponents maliciously dubbed it upon introduction in 1983) can indeed provide protection from short-range and also presumably from long-range rockets and missiles, potentially changing the future of warfare. Tunnels: Tunneling behind enemy lines is hardly a new tactic; historically, it has had success, such as the 1917...

An Israeli commander claimed that hundreds of Israeli lives were saved recently when “the hand of God” stopped a Hamas rocket. The Israeli commander described the attack on a Hebrew-language website: A missile was fired from Gaza. Iron Dome precisely calculated [its trajectory]. We know where these missiles are going to land down to a radius of 200 meters. This particular missile was going to hit either the Azrieli Towers, the Kirya (Israel’s equivalent of the Pentagon) or [a central Tel Aviv railway station]. Hundreds could have died. We fired the first [interceptor]. It missed. Second [interceptor]. It missed. This...

Threats: As a somber anniversary nears, "proportional response" has replaced "victory" in the lexicon of war. But no nation facing an existential threat should apologize for winning or for saving the lives of its own people. The other day Navi Pillay, the United Nations' high commissioner for human rights, after a meeting of the U.N.'s Geneva-based Human Rights Council, said that Israel, despite dropping leaflets, dummy bombs and even sending text messages and using social media to warn citizens in Gaza, was not doing enough to protect civilians — and "international law has been violated, in a manner that could...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Israel withdrew most of its ground troops from the Gaza Strip on Sunday in an apparent winding down of the nearly monthlong operation against Hamas that has left more than 1,800 Palestinians and more than 60 Israelis dead. Even as Israel said it was close to completing its mission, heavy fighting raged in parts of Gaza, with at least 10 people killed in what U.N. and Palestinian officials said was an Israeli airstrike near a U.N. shelter. The United States lashed out at Israel, saying it was "appalled" by the "disgraceful" attack. And with...

Over the weekend, both the Senate and the House approved $225M in funding for the Iron Dome. The bill passed by unanimous consent in the Senate and by a 395 to 8 vote. Opposition to the funding of the Iron Dome demonstarted an unfortunate bi-partisan measure – four Democrats and four Republicans voted against it. The four Democrats were Keith Ellison (MN-05), Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Jim Moran (VA-08), and Beto O’Rourke (TX-16); The four Republicans were Justin Amash (MI-03), Walter Jones (NC-03), Tom Massie (KY-04), and Mark Sanford (SC-01). Rep. Ellison explains vote on “Meet the Press”: “Because a ceasefire...

You may recall that on Friday, in what would have been a Christmas Miracle were it not several months early, Congress actually got something done. It was the passage of a bill approving $225M in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome defensive missile system. It was quite the bipartisan effort in retrospect, garnering an overwhelming 395 votes in the House with only eight in opposition. One of those eight was Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, and as The Corner reports, he went out on the weekend gab circuit to explain why he didn’t support the measure. “Because a cease-fire is what we...

In what may be one of the most ridiculous accusations yet against Israel, the UN's top human rights official condemned Israel on Thursday for failing to share the Iron Dome anti-missile system with Hamas, Breitbart reports. According to the report, human rights commissioner Navi Pillay condemned Israel’s military actions to stop Hamas rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, telling reporters that Israel was “deliberately defying International Law... in a way that may constitute war crimes.” "There is a strong possibility that international law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes,” Breitbart quoted Pillay as saying following...

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated on Wednesday that the only solution for the region is the destruction of Israel, and that the armed confrontation must expand beyond Gaza. Meanwhile, revolutionary guards announced new missiles which could destroy Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. Fars News Agency, a media outlet run by the Iranian state, reported today that Khamenei addressed the conflict in Gaza in a meeting with Iranian college students. “These crimes which are beyond imagination and show the true nature of the wolfish and child killer regime, which the only solution is its destruction,” the ayatollah declared...

Israel’s Iron Dome has played a high profile role in the current conflict with Hamas as the country's military deploys state-of-the-art technology to tackle missile attacks.

Between the fall of the Jewish Commonwealth to the Romans in the first century A.D. and the founding of Israel in 1948, Jews were remarkably easy to kill. Not anymore. Today, thanks to an innovative missile-defense system called Iron Dome (in Hebrew Kipat Barzel), it’s harder than ever. Yet when it was first proposed, many Israeli defense experts (and one way or another most Israelis consider themselves defense experts) were reluctant to support the idea of a defensive response to rocket attacks from Gaza and Lebanon. Throughout the history of warfare there has been conflict between those who believe in...

According to the Israeli government, in this latest round of Israel-Hamas combat, Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system has (so far) intercepted 90 percent of targeted incoming Hamas rockets. Iron Dome is a very sophisticated tactical (short-range) anti-missile and anti-artillery projectile defense system. In terms of combat operations, Iron Dome's "sensor-shooter" system is a drastically scaled-down strategic anti-missile defense system, a mini-ABM system in the mold of the Reagan administration's Strategic Defense Initiative. In fact, Iron Dome is an SDI descendant and a cousin of the current U.S. Missile Defense program. I will return to the cousin connection in...

Israel's "Iron Dome" defense system has emerged as a game-changer in the current round of violence with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, shooting down dozens of incoming rockets and being credited with preventing numerous civilian casualties. By shooting down more than 90 percent of its targets, the system is ensuring Israel's decisive technological edge that has helped it operate virtually unhindered in Gaza. At the same time, it's also providing a much-needed sense of security on the home front.....

The rioting that gripped several Israeli Arab towns on Friday night renewed toward evening on Saturday, though with less intensity. Police were present outside the town of Kalanswa, where dozens of protestors, many of them with their faces masked, set fire to tires on the main road into the town. The road between Kalanswa and Taibeh was closed in both directions. Other roads in the north of the country were closed intermittently during the afternoon, as police moved to counter renewed demonstrations. In the south of the country, rockets fired from the Gaza Strip set fields alight in the Eshkol...

The Iron Dome rocket defense system intercepted four rockets fired from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel on Saturday night. Three rockets were shot down over Asheklon after the rocket defense system intercepted a projectile fired at Beersheba. Another rocket fell in an open area near Ashkelon, and a second one exploded in Sha'ar Hanegev. Earlier in the evening, the Israel Air Force struck three terror sites in southern Gaza Strip in response to a continuous barrage of rockets fired at southern Israel throughout the day. "The IDF is prepared to defend Israeli citizens from any threat and will continue...

A White House veto threat — reiterated just hours before the vote — had little impact in an election year as lawmakers embraced the popular measure that includes a 1.8 percent pay raise for the troops and adds up to hundreds of thousands of jobs back home. The vote was 325-98 for the legislation, with 216 Republicans and 109 Democrats backing the bill. The National Defense Authorization Act calls for the addition of $175 million in funding for the Iron Dome system, which currently gets $176 million annually from the Pentagon. Much of the funding would be tied to a...

After a rocket was fired at Eilat by Al Qaeda-inspired Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Partisans of Jerusalem) Friday night, and shot down by Iron Dome, Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz warned Saturday that at the current rate, Israel will soon have to once again enter Gaza to destroy Hamas, the Islamist terrorist group which currently controls the territory. “In the last year or two there has been an improvement in the security situation, fewer rockets have been fired at Israel and fewer Israelis have been injured,” noted Steinitz. “But if the trickle of rockets from Gaza continues, we’ll have no choice but...

Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted five rockets fired at the city of Ashkelon from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, and the military responded with a series of air strikes on the Hamas-controlled territory. No group has taken responsibility for firing the rockets, which were shot down by Iron Dome's small radar-guided missiles over Ashkelon, a coastal city of some 125,000 people about 12 km (seven miles) north of Gaza.

The Iron Dome rocket defense system intercepted five rockets fired by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza at Ashkelon early Thursday morning. An additional rocket may have landed in an open, uninhabited area. There were no injuries in the Palestinian attack.

An upgraded ballistic rocket was reportedly launched Tuesday from the Gaza Strip into the Mediterranean sea, presumably to test the weapon’s capabilities and range. The test caused loud explosion sounds that were audible in Israeli towns and cities adjacent to the Gaza border, Channel 2 reported. The rocket was an improved version of the M-75 missile with a slightly longer range and a larger warhead, the report said. Other Israeli news outlets, citing the army, attributed the explosion sounds to ultrasonic booms caused by Israeli jets that were participating in a drill.

Experts who took part in the test of the David's Sling anti-missile system david sling test successfulWednesday were elated at its success, according to a report by Maariv's Yochai Ofer. Pini Yungman, who heads the Missile Defense Systems Authority in Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said the test, in which an interceptor missile brought down a missile fired in simulation of an enemy attack, had made "history." "We have developed 'next generation' technology here for a system that will provide a solution for future threats. You could say that all of the systems worked perfectly. The jewel in the crown is...

Israel deployed its Iron Dome missile defense system near Jerusalem Sunday, an AFP correspondent said.iron dome golan israel syria strike. The correspondent said the battery was set up west of the city. A military spokeswoman would not comment on the deployment, saying only that "defense systems are deployed in accordance with situation assessments." An IDF source said that the system's deployment is a routine part of the way it is tested, by being transferred from place to place. Late last month a battery of the mobile system was set up in the greater Tel Aviv area, pointing northwards towards Syria....

At least four rockets were fired from Lebanon Thursday afternoon, with at least one confirmed as having struck in the area of Nahariya. IDF Radio reported that bomb shelters in the northern city of Akko (Acre) have been opened for public use, and the IDF is urging residents of the north to remain close to shelters. There are unconfirmed reports that the IDF has responded with artillery fire into Lebanon

JERUSALEM (AP) -- The Israeli military shot down a rocket launched toward a Red Sea resort town near the border with Egypt on Tuesday, the army said. It was the first time Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system successfully intercepted a rocket attack on the resort of Eilat, the military said. The incident came after days of heightened tension along the Egypt-Israel border. The army said the rocket was intercepted early Tuesday and that there were no injuries. It didn't provide more details and declined to comment on the origins of the projectile. An al-Qaida-inspired militant group based in Egypt's...

JERUSALEM (AP) -- The Israeli military on Tuesday shot down a rocket launched from neighboring Egypt toward a popular Red Sea resort, and an al-Qaida-linked militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, fueling concerns that jihadist groups are trying to disrupt the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. It was the first time that Israel has deployed its "Iron Dome" rocket defense system in Eilat, a normally placid resort near Egypt's Sinai peninsula that is popular with Israeli and European tourists. The incident came after days of heightened tension along the Egypt-Israel border fueled by an Egyptian crackdown on militant groups. The area...

Despite pledges by US President Barack Obama and key congressional leaders to shield the Israeli Iron Dome from sequestration cuts, Israel has offered to waive funding protection, reports Defense News, which says Israel has been “insisting it should bear its share of the burden.” “Our position is we must bear the burden that our American friends are bearing,” Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador in Washington, told the website in an interview to be published in an upcoming edition. Sources from both countries told the website that this is “a painful, yet pragmatic price for the goodwill to be generated among longtime...

Full video of Netanyahu-Obama press conference and full text of U.S. President's statements. U.S. President Barack Obama announced Wednesday in a news conference with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that he would take steps to ensure that U.S. funding for Iron Dome is not interrupted. snip This is the full text of Obama's remarks after meeting Netanyahu for almost three hours. snip

Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have said they share the same goals, as the US leader makes his first visit to Israel as president. Speaking in Jerusalem, the two leaders said they agreed that Israel had the right to "defend itself by itself". Mr Obama said there was "not a lot of light" between the US and Israel in assessing Iran's nuclear programme. The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. snip Following talks in Jerusalem, Mr Netanyahu said the fact the US president had made Israel the first foreign visit...

During his trip to Israel this month, U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to pay a visit to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, members of his delegation told Israeli government ministry representatives on Monday. According to a high-ranking Israeli official, that stop, scheduled for Friday, March 22, was added to his itinerary only in the past few days. UNESCO recognized the Church of the Nativity as a Palestinian World Heritage Site in June 2012, several months after Palestine became a full-fledged member of the organization. The advance American delegation responsible for organizing President Obama´s visit

Israel’s Stunner emerges on India’s radar SUJAN DUTTA Bangalore, Feb. 6: Behind Israel’s Iron Dome for India is a Stunner in the works. Israel, India’s furtive defence supplier that both countries keep shrouded behind layers of confidentiality, has outed itself in the Aero India 9th edition here. A truck-mounted launcher from its Iron Dome missile system greets visitors at the entrance to the biannual event in the IAF’s Yelahanka airbase that showcases the air combat inventory that India has on its wish list. The Iron Dome, successfully demonstrated in last year’s short sharp war between Israel and militants in the...

Sen. Rand Paul says The White House, Capitol buildings, and key U.S. cities should build their own versions of Israel's Iron Dome to defend them from missile attacks, BuzzFeed reports. “I saw presentations of the Iron Dome and it was very impressive … [I am] absolutely in favor of it,” Paul told reporters in a conference call after touring Israel and Jordan. …

Using lasers for tracking objects through the sky has been possible for years, but there's never been anything like Lockheed's new laser defense system successfully tested last week. It's not that using high-powered lasers to drop incoming missiles is anything new, and was achieved by Boeing with a nine-year Air Force project that was canceled in 2011. That monster laser was packed into a 747 and designed to head off ballistic missiles fired at the U.S. from very far away. Raytheon then tested their laser defense on a drone for the Navy in 2010, but now Lockheed's distilled the process...

India wants license to produce Iron Dome - report "Defense News": Israel is uncertain whether to let India have the technology to produce the rocket interception system. Israel and India are discussing cooperating in the development of weapons systems. "Defense News" reports from New Delhi that one of the aspects of this trend is India's wish to procure and manufacture the Iron Dome system against short-range missiles. During a visit to India last week, Ministry of Defense director general Udi Shani discussed with India's Defense Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma the progress of current defense projects by the two countries and...

Israel strengthened its military deterrence during the recent clash with Hamas by demonstrating that its Iron Dome missile defense intercepted Israel-bound rockets from Gaza 84 percent of the time. Most media accounts of Iron Dome in action marveled at its precision performance in preventing most of the rockets from reaching their targets in southern Israel - although a few did get through its new defensive net. Iron Dome was widely credited with keeping Israeli casualties to a bare minimum. But that's not exactly the view of the Washington Post in its Sunday, Dec. 9, edition. In a front-page article that...

A large mob of Palestinians attempted to break through the fence separating the Gaza Strip from Israel on Wednesday, ignoring warnings to desist from IDF troops who fired shots at the legs of the rioters, leading to seven Palestinians being wounded.

A new Israeli air shield against rockets more powerful than those intercepted by Iron Dome in the Gaza conflict passed its first field test last week after being rushed through development, officials said on Sunday. They said that David's Sling, billed as Israel's answer to the longer-range missiles of Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Syria, shot down a target rocket in a secret November 20 desert trial that coincided with fierce shelling exchanges between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Worried about deteriorating security on the fronts with Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and the international showdown over the disputed nuclear...

In the wake of the great success of the Iron Dome anti-missile system, which was able to intercept many of the rockets fired from Gaza at populated areas during Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel is now pushing ahead with the development of Magic Wand, which is supposed to be able to intercept short-range and medium-range rockets. According to a report in the Boston Globe on Saturday, Israel will test the system in the Negev in the coming days. Magic Wand, the report said, is being developed by the Israeli Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. in cooperation with the American company...

One factor Israel may have considered in agreeing to the recent cease fire with Hamas was a possible shortage of Tamir missiles (used by the Iron Dome system to shoot down rockets). The problem was that Israel was not sure how many long (over 20 kilometers) range rockets (that could reach larger urban areas) Hamas had left. Hamas had managed to fire about a thousand rockets in a week, with most of them hitting unoccupied areas, or being intercepted by Tamir missiles. Israeli aircraft had made over a thousand bombing raids on Gaza, hitting hundreds of rocket storage sites. But...

A Facebook friend of mine recently posted: “I love you, Iron Dome, and I want to have your babies.” Such is the outpouring of love and appreciation for an extraordinary piece of Israeli technology that has saved many lives in southern and central Israel. Nevertheless, despite this appreciation, there has been little analysis of the true strategic significance of Iron Dome. Iron Dome is a game-changer that not only consigns Hamas’ and Hezbollah’s current terror model to the trash can, it completely undermines the military doctrines of all of Israel’s enemies. Before we discuss this fundamental strategic shift in detail,...

The performance of the revolutionary Iron Dome system in the ongoing defense of Israel from Hamas rocket attacks, dubbed Operation Pillar of Defense, has been so extraordinary as to be considered by all but the most hardline critics to have proven the efficacy of missile defense. By November 20, six days since Hamas dramatically increased the volume of rocket fire against Israel, 340 intercepts had been made, with the Iron Dome system achieving a greater than 80 percent success rate. For Israel, this capability not only saves lives but also provides the government with precious time to contemplate a response...

JERUSALEM — An abiding image of the former Israel defense minister Amir Peretz was a photograph of him peering at a military drill — with the black lens caps still on his binoculars. Mr. Peretz resigned months after the 2006 war in Lebanon, which was widely regarded as a failure. Yet on Sunday, as rockets fired by Gaza militants streaked toward Tel Aviv, Ashdod and other Israeli cities, Mr. Peretz, a resident of the rocket-battered border town of Sderot, was being hailed as a defense visionary for having had the foresight while in office to face down myriad skeptics and...

Security: As Hamas launches rockets toward Israeli population centers, Tel Aviv's investment in missile defense passes its acid test, destroying the vast majority. The U.S., meanwhile, is moving in just the opposite direction. On Sunday, Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system successfully shot down two Iranian-made Fajr-5 rockets aimed at the heart of Tel-Aviv by Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. It was just one of many such interceptions by what is now the world's only battle-tested missile defense system. The "Fajr" (Dawn) series are mobile-launched, unguided, solid-fuel artillery rockets developed by Iran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war with...

Security: As Hamas launches rockets toward Israeli population centers, Tel Aviv's investment in missile defense passes its acid test, destroying the vast majority. The U.S., meanwhile, is moving in just the opposite direction. On Sunday, Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system successfully shot down two Iranian-made Fajr-5 rockets aimed at the heart of Tel-Aviv by Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. It was just one of many such interceptions by what is now the world's only battle-tested missile defense system. The "Fajr" (Dawn) series are mobile-launched, unguided, solid-fuel artillery rockets developed by Iran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war with...