The Iron Dome is ready for anything rockets and mortars that Gaza terror groups try to fire at Israel, IDF Capt. Assaf told the Jerusalem Post in an interview in the middle of the current conflict.
Capt. Assaf, whose last name is classified, said, “we are in a round of war with Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. They are firing rockets at the Gaza corridor and Gush Dan. We are confronting this and we know how to do to-notch work. We are shooting down all of the rockets in the area.”
Assaf was asked if there were any technical failures this week with Iron Dome, like there had been briefly last week during a different round of rockets from Islamic Jihad.
“Our unit is working extremely well, though nothing is ever 100%, but there is no gap and no technical failure,” he responded.
Challenges in handling rocket fire
Next, he was asked if there were different challenges or tensions in handling rocket fire on the Gaza corridor which his missile defense teams regularly deal with, versus rarer rocket attacks on Gush Dan from more sophisticated rockets, as occurred on Wednesday.
An Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor missile as rockets are fired from Gaza, in Sderot, Israel, May 10, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)He stated, “The purpose of Iron Dome is to protect everything and to do everything to defend our civilian population. It does not matter where they live or what time, day or night, at any hour, whether on the Passover Holiday or the Lag Ba’omer Holiday.”
“Islamic Jihad has fired hundreds of rockets at the Israeli South. We are ready for all of it and will remain in a state of readiness until the conflict is finished,” added the IDF captain.
Addressing the question of new tactics from Gaza and the higher level of speed with which Islamic Jihad has shown it can fire rockets, over 500 in less than 24 hours on Wednesday, Assaf said, “These are not new numbers. We train all the time. Sometimes there are challenges and we see many more rockets. But we are always preparing for the next round and we can handle any challenge from any of the Gaza groups – there is nothing we cannot handle.”
Dealing with combating fatigue
In addition, the IDF captain was asked how the Iron Dome teams dealt with combating fatigue. He said, “We don’t know how long it will go. We are primed. When we need to, we switch shifts if anyone needs to sleep so that everyone remains ready. We can keep going even if this lasts two months.”
Assaf said that he has served in Israel’s air defense arm since 2015 and spent two years getting various kinds of special training relating to missile defense.
More specifically, he was significantly involved in defending Israel from rocket attacks during conflicts in 2021 and 2022. He said, “I have prior experience and lots of pride. After every round, we get better, more precise and faster. This will continue and next week we will get even better.”
Questioned about if Gaza’s rocket crews focus all their fire on one spot to try to overwhelm Iron Dome in that one area, he responded, “It doesn’t matter what they do. We are ready for any strategy and we will thwart it,”
He added that Iron Dome does not provide 100% protection and that for the small percentage of the time that rockets get through, civilians should carefully follow the Home Front Command’s instructions to remain safe.
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