by Israel Hayom Staff
IDF: "The system is deployed in accordance with situational assessments and need" • Senior defense officials have warned that the Iron Dome system would be unable to fully protect Israel against a massive rocket attack by Hezbollah.
The Iron Dome battery in northern Israel, Tuesday night | Photo credit: Herzi Shapira  |
Amid concerns of a possible escalation of hostilities along Israel's northern border, Channel 2 News reported on Tuesday that an Iron Dome anti-rocket battery has been deployed in the area.
The battery was positioned near Haifa to defend against possible threats from Lebanon and Syria.
According the IDF Spokesperson's Office, "The system is deployed in accordance with situational assessments and need."
Less than two weeks ago, a senior defense official warned that the Iron Dome system would be unable to fully protect Israel against a massive rocket attack by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, based in southern Lebanon.
"Ben-Gurion International Airport would have to be shut down from early on in the fighting against Hezbollah. Iron Dome won't be able to duplicate its interception rate from Operation Protective Edge," the official said.
The Iron Dome system was designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) to 70 kilometers (43 miles). Hezbollah's arsenal is believed to number some 100,000 missiles, including surface-to-air and surface-to-sea missiles, whose range could cover all of Israel.
The defense official said that while Hezbollah is currently "knee-deep in the fighting in Syria, it would be wrong to say that it was struggling. It may have its problems, but its dealing with them." Despite the fact that the fighting has "blurred the borders between Syria and Lebanon, we haven't seen the massive transfer of weapons to Lebanon," he said.
The Israel Defense Forces could defeat Hezbollah, he continued, but only if the Israeli military exercised its full force.
"You don't have to use multiple maneuvers to counter every scenario, but if Hezbollah attacks with full force, we'll have no choice but to exercise the IDF's full force in response," the official said.
Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=21395
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