TEL AVIV, May 11 - The chairman of state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd said on Monday that Israel's Iron Dome has intercepted nearly all incoming projectiles fired by militants from Gaza and Lebanon, and has also stopped most ballistic missiles launched from Iran in recent exchanges.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, Yuval Steinitz said that since the October 2023 Hamas raid on Israel, fighters from Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have together launched around 40,000 rockets toward Israel.
"Iron Dome intercepted most of them with success rates that (are) not 100% but close to 100%. It’s around 98%, even 99%, so it’s not perfect, but almost," Steinitz told attendees. The chairman used the remark to characterise the system's overall battlefield performance while acknowledging it falls short of absolute perfection.
Steinitz also addressed ballistic missile attacks from Iran. He said Iran has launched approximately 1,500 ballistic missiles at Israel in two rounds of fighting since 2024. According to his account, "only several dozens" of those missiles were not intercepted by defensive systems.
The Rafael chairman further stated there was no shortage of missile interceptors, a point intended to reassure that supply constraints were not limiting the system's operational tempo.
Context and implications
The figures presented by Rafael's chairman provide a measure of the scale of the exchanges of fire that have affected Israel since October 2023 and into 2024. They also frame Iron Dome's operational record as highly effective by the metrics cited, while leaving room for the remaining, non-intercepted projectiles that continue to present danger.
This account is drawn from comments made at a Jerusalem security conference and reflects the numbers and assessments offered there.
Summary of key factual points
- Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have reportedly fired about 40,000 rockets at Israel since October 2023.
- Iron Dome's interception success rate was described as approximately 98-99 percent by Rafael's chairman.
- Iran has fired roughly 1,500 ballistic missiles at Israel in two rounds of fighting since 2024, with only "several dozens" reported as not intercepted.
- Rafael's chairman said there was no shortage of missile interceptors available.