Dear Members and Friends,
The Iron Dome is the most heavily used rocket and mortar defense system in the world. It is a model for how effective missile and rocket defense systems are when put into action.
An objective way to look at Iron Dome’s impact is to compare the damage from similar mass rocket attacks in 2006 and 2012 to today in 2014, when 4470 rockets and mortars were fired between July 7th and August 26th against Israel from the Gaza Strip.
In 2006, 4,200 rockets were fired against Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israel had zero deployed Iron Dome Batteries, and was forced to rely solely on offensive military action to stem the attacks. The attacks killed 53 Israeli civilians, a ratio of one death per 79 rockets fired, and there were 7.34 insurance claims for property damage per one rocket fired.
In 2012, 1,600 rockets were fired against Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israel had five deployed Iron Dome Batteries. The attacks killed five Israeli civilians, a ratio of one death per 320 rockets and there were 2 insurance claims for property damage per 1 rocket fired. The Iron Dome system intercepted and destroyed 421 incoming rockets in 2012.
This year, 3,900 rockets and 570 mortars were fired against Israel from the Gaza Strip in 2014 from July 7 and August 26. Israel had nine deployed Iron Dome Batteries. No Israeli civilians were killed from the rocket attacks and there were 0.89 insurance claims for property damage per one rocket fired during the attacks. Iron Dome intercepted and destroyed 725 incoming rockets in 2014. Two civilian deaths in 2014 were caused by mortar fire, not rocket fire.
As a government, Israel provides all if its citizens with insurance in the event their property is damaged from rocket attacks. In 2006 the total number of insurance claims for rocket damage was 30,000. In 2012, the insurance claims for rocket damage were 3,200 and in 2014 the insurance claims declined to 2,400.
These numbers, not the numbers of intercepts or how they were intercepted, speak to the true impact and actual effectiveness of the Iron Dome system to save lives and protect cities, towns and homes in Israel from damage and destruction.
