New Israeli probe reveals major failures in Iron Dome defense on Oct 7
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The investigation identified two key failures that contributed to the system's inability to intercept rockets effectively.
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A battery of "Israel's" Iron Dome defense missile system, deployed to intercept rockets, sits in Ashkelon, southern occupied Palestine, August 7, 2022. (AP)
Israeli Channel 12 reported on Sunday that operational investigations presented to Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi regarding the performance of "Israel's" air defense system during the events of October 7 revealed significant failures in the Iron Dome's response.
According to the channel's military correspondent, "Israel's" air defense system was in routine operational mode at the time of the massive rocket barrage launched by Hamas, making it difficult to handle the scale of the attack.
The investigation identified two key failures that contributed to the system's inability to intercept rockets effectively.
The first is that several Iron Dome batteries in the Gaza envelope did not operate during the first minutes of the attack for reasons "that cannot be disclosed." As a result, "no interceptions were carried out by these batteries during those minutes."
The second reason, according to the military correspondent, was that it "became very difficult to reload the batteries due to the infiltration of fighters from Gaza into Israeli territory."
Unprecedented rocket barrage overwhelms defenses
The Channel 12 report noted that the attack unfolded without prior intelligence warnings, leaving the air defense system unprepared.
During the first four hours of the operation, Hamas launched 3,700 rockets toward occupied territories, with 1,014 rockets fired in just the first 20 minutes. As the hours passed, multiple Iron Dome batteries ran out of ammunition, significantly reducing interception capabilities.
"Half of the rockets fired from Gaza toward populated areas were not intercepted, leading to hundreds of direct hits in residential neighborhoods within the Gaza envelope," the correspondent added.
Read more: 'Israel's Iron Dome ‘more fragile than glass': Pezeshkian
The report concluded that "Israel's" air defense strategy must be revised to prevent similar failures in the future.
One of the main lessons from the October 7 events is that "Israel" "must deploy a greater number of Iron Dome batteries, even during routine periods, to mitigate the risk of being caught off guard in the event of an intelligence failure."
