Hezbollah targets Israel's Iron Dome for the first time

BEIRUT — In a recent escalation of hostilities, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for targeting "two Iron Dome platforms" in Israel, striking north of the Israeli town of Kabri around 2:30 p.m. This marks a first the first time Hezbollah has targeted the Israeli air missile defense system, since cross-border clashes began on Oct. 8, one day after the unprecedented Hamas attack, the "al-Aqsa Flood," on southern Israel.

Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, a Hezbollah spokesperson indicated that this operation "corresponds with a type of military tactic whose judgement is left to the leaders of the Resistance. As the sayyed [Hassan Nasrallah] said, the terrain speaks for itself," she said referring to a familiar Hezbollah sentiment implying that official statements aren't necessary — operations on the ground convey the party's messages well enough.

Israel's Iron Dome is a highly sophisticated and costly defense mechanism. Since coming into operation in 2011, the short-range missile defense system boasts an 85 to 90 percent interception rate. Comprising guided missiles, radars, and a control center with missile launchers, the system can intercept missiles in mid-air. The expense of producing a full battery, including radars, command, and control, as well as missile launchers, sits around $100 million, with each guided missile costing up to $50,000.

Israel relies heavily on American support to keep this defensive shield operational. Under the current memorandum of understanding signed in 2016, the United States commits to providing Israel with $38 billion in military aid over a decade, from 2019 to 2028, through the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program — a portion of which, five billion dollars, is allocated for missile defense. In 2022, the US Congress earmarked an additional one billion dollars over two years for the Iron Dome's anti-aircraft defense.

At the outset of the Hamas-Israel war, a US Department of Defense official announced the Pentagon's plans to supply Israel with two of its own antimissile defense systems, further underscoring the deepening defense ties between the two nations amid rising regional tensions.