What is Iron Dome?

About Iron Dome

• It is Israel’s air missile defense system that can defend against short-range rockets, intercepting them in the air above the state.
• It is capable of successfully handling multiple rockets at a time.
• Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, the system became operational in March 2011.

Features

• The Iron Dome functions by detecting, analyzing, and intercepting varieties of targets such as mortars, rockets, and artillery. 
• It is powered by missile-defense batteries.
• It has all-weather capabilities and is able to function night or day and in all conditions, including fog, rain, dust storms, and low clouds. 
• It is able to launch a variety of interceptor missiles. 
• It is designed to shoot down missiles with a range of about 40 miles or less.
• It also has the ability to be moved, either onto ships or across land, to better suit defense needs.
• It must be reloaded to continuously intercept incoming missiles.
• The Iron Dome operates through three main components:
  • a radar that detects incoming rockets,
  • a command-and-control system that determines the threat level,
  • an interceptor that seeks to destroy the incoming rocket before it strikes.

Q1: Where is the Gaza strip?

The Gaza Strip is 140 sq miles of land located in the southwest corner of Israel, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It also shares a border with Egypt to the south.  The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are two Palestinian territories that were part of Mandate Palestine and were captured by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967. There are over 5 million Palestinians combined living in the two territories.   

Source: All about Israel's Iron Dome which took on 5,000 rockets launched by Hamas