Latest news with #Israeli-Lebanon
Indian Express
24-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Here's how much Israel is spending on Iron Dome, the country's best known air defence system
Last few days have seen attacks and counter-attacks between Israel and Iran, which are expected to end with a ceasefire agreement, brokered by US President Donald Trump, on Tuesday. Israel has been involved in multiple conflicts — these include armed warfares with Palestinian militant groups Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, apart from those with Iran. It has repeatedly used its expansive air defence systems to counter missile attacks from its enemies. Of them, Iron Dome is the best known. The Iron Dome is a short-range, ground-to-air, air defence system that includes a radar and interceptor missiles, which track and neutralise rockets or missiles fired at Israeli targets. The genesis of the Iron Dome goes back to the 2006 Israeli-Lebanon war, when Hezbollah aimed thousands of rockets into Israel. Just the following year, Israel announced that its state-run Rafael Advance Systems would come up with a new air defence system to protect its cities and people. It was developed with Israel Aerospace Industries and the Iron Dome was deployed in 2011. Iron Dome is used for countering rockets, artillery & mortars (C-RAM) as well as aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. Iron Dome detects and tracks incoming rockets with radar and calculates which ones are likely to reach populated areas. It then fires missiles at these rockets, leaving the others to fall on open ground. The IDF claimed that Iron Dome destroys 90% of the rockets it targets. Iron Dome batteries are installed all across Israel. A single Iron Dome battery is equipped with three to four missile launchers, each of which contains up to 20 Tamir missiles. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, 'Tamir' interceptors of the Iron Dome cost about $40,000 to $50,000 each. In 2024, Israel spent about 100 billion shekels ($28 billion) on various military conflicts, news agency Reuters reported in January. This had shot up the government's borrowing and the nation's debt burden.
Times of Oman
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Israel-Lebanon tensions rise after rockets fired
Israel's Defense Ministry said the country's military was carrying out a second wave of strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. The ministry said the bombardment was ordered by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on "dozens of Hezbollah targets." Lebanon's Health Ministry said one of the strikes on the coastal city of Tyre killed one person and wounded seven others. Earlier Saturday, Israel said it had struck Hezbollah rocket launchers and a command center in southern Lebanon. The Israeli moves come in retaliation for rockets fired from across the Israeli-Lebanon border earlier in the day. An Israeli official said six rockets were fired, three of which crossed into Israel and were intercepted. Hezbollah denied responsibility for Saturday's rocket fire, saying it remained committed to the ceasefire, reached in November. Yemen's Houthis accuse US of attacking Hodeida airport Karl Sexton with AFP | Wesley Dockery Editor Media affiliated with Houthi rebels in Yemen have accused the US of attacking the airport in Hodeida. A local official told Yemen's official news agency Saba that the "US aggression" targeted the international airport with three airstrikes. The Iran-backed rebels have been making similar accusations since Wednesday, when the US confirmed "continuous operations" against the Yemeni group. US President Donald Trump has said the rebels, who control most of Yemen including the capital Sanaa, will be "annihilated." The US on March 15 announced a wave of airstrikes which officials say killed senior Houthi leaders. The rebels' health ministry said 53 people had been killed in the strikes. Trump orders strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen Those attacks — the first since Trump returned to the White House in January — were in response to the Houthis threatening to restart their attacks on Israel and Israeli cargo ships.
