Israel faced “unprecedented and sustained” bombardment during the war with Iran, a defense ministry official said on Tuesday, Anadolu reports.
The remarks were made by Moshe Patel, director of Israel’s Missile Defense Organization, following the completion of a comprehensive series of tests of the Iron Dome system, according to a statement by the Israeli Defense Ministry, which did not specify where or when the tests were conducted.
The ministry said the Missile Defense Organization, in cooperation with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, completed a broad testing campaign for the Iron Dome “to address a wide range of advanced threats, incorporating lessons learned from recent military operations.”
“Throughout the war… we faced an unprecedented reality of sustained bombardment, which required exceptional operational flexibility and immediate field support under extremely difficult conditions,” Patel said.
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He said the Iron Dome “remains a key pillar of Israel’s multilayered air defense network, designed to counter rockets, anti-tank threats, and ballistic missiles.”
Despite the ministry’s claim that the system intercepted thousands of rockets and aerial threats during the war, Israeli and international media have repeatedly reported failures in Israel’s air defense systems, particularly the Iron Dome, in intercepting some missiles and drones.
In February 2025, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that an army investigation found a “serious failure” in the Iron Dome during the opening hours of the Oct. 7, 2023 events, saying nearly half of the roughly 3,700 rockets fired in the first four hours were not intercepted, while interceptor batteries were depleted within hours.
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