Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 11:55pm on 10 Oct 2023,Tuesday International
Joe Biden condemned Hamas’ “acts of sheer evil” and said the US will provide military assistance including helping to restore Israel’s “Iron Dome”. Israel's Iron Dome air defense system helps defend against rockets fired by Hamas from Gaza, though some still hit populated areas. It uses radar to track incoming short-range rockets and differentiate threats to inhabited versus uninhabited zones. The system has 10 batteries across Israel, each with 3-4 launchers containing up to 20 interceptor missiles. Two Tamir missiles are fired at each threatening rocket. It is considered cost-effective as it only fires on populated area threats, not all rockets. Producing a missile battery still costs around $100 million. Iron Dome's protection was strained by thousands of Hamas rockets during their October offensive, allowing some to penetrate and hit Israeli communities. Biden said 14 American casualties have been reported so far, with more feared held captive by terrorists.
