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Day 3: Major Israeli Cities Targeted, IDF Conduct is “Exemplary,” Profiling The Iron Dome Team

by TheTower.org Staff |

The third day of Operation Protective Edge was marked by rockets and sirens in nearly all major Israeli cities, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Beersheba.

Two soldiers were wounded in the south by mortar fire.

William Saletan of Slate called Israel’s care to avoid harming civilians “exemplary.”

By the standards of war, Israel’s efforts to spare civilians have been exemplary.

Israel didn’t choose this fight. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the terrorist organizations that dominate Gaza, claim that Israel provoked the conflict by arresting Hamas members in the West Bank. But arrests in one territory don’t justify aerial bombardment from another. Israel didn’t hit Gaza until terrorists had fired more than 150 rockets into Israel and had rejected a cease-fire.

In an infographic, the IDF provided context to their strategic decision-making.

Geektime, an Israeli tech website, interviewed the developers of the Iron Dome system.

“The development of Iron Dome transformed our lives; dictating a hectic work week and some weekends. I never got home before 11 pm, and of course I didn’t take a single day off for three whole years. But I don’t regret a single moment,” says H., a graduate of the Technion’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (1975), who heads the Iron Dome project at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd….
The challenge was to develop a system capable of identifying aerial threats – mainly rockets – and eliminating them autonomously. H. explains, “Our system includes a sensor that locates the threat, a command and control center that analyzes the rocket’s trajectory and its damage potential, and an interceptor (missile) that eliminates it. It’s a very complex system. Qassam rockets are comprised of make-shift components, and their trajectories are very ‘wobbly’ rather than smooth.
Imagine a coke bottle flying several times faster than the speed of sound on an irregular course. Intercepting it seems farfetched.”

Avi Issacharoff reported for the Times of Israel that terrorists groups are competing to see who can shoot missiles the fastest and furthest.

This may sound cynical, but the only political threat posed to Hamas in Gaza right now comes from members of the rival Islamic Jihad. The latter is trying to beat Hamas in the competition over who will shoot more and fire farther into Israel. Islamic Jihad stole the show when it managed to launch a rocket Wednesday at Tel Aviv, beating Hamas to the task by several hours. Hamas then one-upped Hamas by firing still farther north.

Gazans are watching this violent competition play out with some astonishment. Islamic Jihad is busy launching rockets into Israel, often from the same sites where Hamas operatives are trying to do the same, and the main focus of both groups is who can fire first.

Previously today, the Tower covered Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s attempt to join the International Criminal Court. This effort might be complicated by news that Fatah-affiliated terrorists are joining Hamas in terrorist attacks on Israel, implicating Fatah, the faction headed by Abbas, in war crimes. Hamas’s tactic of using human shields, another war crime, could also complicate Abbas’s plan.

Turkey became one of the first countries to “unequivocally” condemn Protective Edge, Israel’s effort to defend itself against the onslaught of rockets from Gaza.

A recent United Nations report found that Iran was behind smuggling weapons to Gaza. Because Iran’s involvement in the weapons shipments is a violation of a Security Council resolution, it raises questions about Iran’s trustworthiness in regard to the P5+1 negotiations. More generally it shows Iran’s role in promoting terror and contributing to instability in the Middle East.

Hamas targeted Israel’s nuclear reactor in Dimona.

Today at a meeting of the UN Security Council, Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor played an air raid siren for dramatic effect as he explained Israel’s position.

[Photo: Israel Defense Forces / Flickr ]

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