Launched on 14 November, Israel's "Pillar of Defense" operation against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip has so far attacked more than 1,300 targets, the nation's defence ministry says.
In an operational update issued early on 19 November, the Israel Defence Force detailed almost 1,000 rocket launches which it says have been made from Gaza since its assassination of the head of Hamas's military operations, Ahmed al-Jabari. The commander was killed when a missile struck the car in which he was travelling through Gaza City (below).
 |
|---|
Rex Features |
Some 546 rockets have struck Israeli territory since then, the defence force says, with an additional 302 having been intercepted by Iron Dome missile defence systems. First fielded operationally last year, the Rafael-produced system is demonstrating an intercept success rate of 90%, it says, with a fifth battery having been rapidly stood-up near Tel Aviv as the latest hostilities escalated. Israel claims more than 100 militant-launched rockets have also landed within the Gaza Strip, after failing to reach their intended targets.
 |
|---|
Rex Features Iron Dome interceptors have a success rate of 90% |
Air force combat aircraft including Boeing F-15s (below) and Lockheed Martin F-16s and naval vessels have taken part in the strikes inside Gaza, which Israel says are being made against Hamas leadership members, long-range missile and underground rocket launching sites, resupply tunnels, communications infrastructure and training bases.
 |
|---|
Rex Features |
"The sites that were targeted have been positively identified by precise intelligence over the course of months," the defence force says. The Israeli air force's 200 Sqn recently outlined its round-the-clock operations with Israel Aerospace Industries Heron 1 and Heron TP unmanned air vehicles along the border with Gaza.
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon on 18 November called on both parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire.
Source: Flight International
