THIS is the incredible moment Israel’s high tech Iron Dome missile defence system blasts Iranian rockets out of the sky.
Breathtaking CCTV footage shows the aerial battle following Iran’s 181 missile blitz on Tuesday which plunged the Middle East further into chaos.
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The stunning timelapse of the sky above Israel shows Tehran’s ballistic attack weapons surging towards the country.
At first just a few missiles can be seen with the Iron Dome successfully hitting them midair.
Before several huge groups of Iran’s powerful weapons are launched at once – seriously testing the Iron Dome.
The defence system kicks into action as flashes of light burst in the footage as the missiles are hit.
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Israelis scrambled for bomb shelters as the rockets flew nearby with air raid sirens sounding across the country.
The IDF declared it intercepted “a large number” of the 181 missiles in the skies above Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa.
Despite Iran claiming its attack had succeeded in striking 90 per cent of its targets.
But western experts discounted the claims as analysts branded the blitz another embarrassing flop following a 320 missile and drone attack which was repelled in April.
The Sun understands that British Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus as Iran unleashed its attack.
Joe Biden’s US – a close ally of Israel – also reacted to the Iranian attack by firing a dozen of its own interceptors.
Washington has already said it would work with Israel to ensure Iran faced “severe consequences” for its missile blitz.
Father-of-three Sameh al-Asali, 37, was the sole victim of the heinous raid as he was killed instantly by falling shrapnel from the ballistic missiles.
Israel Defence Forces’ Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari branded the multiple strikes “a severe and dangerous escalation” and warned “there will be consequences.”
Hagari said: “There were a small number of hits in the centre of Israel, and other hits in Southern Israel.
“The majority of the incoming missiles were intercepted by Israel and a defensive coalition led by the United States.
“Our defensive and offensive capabilities are at the highest levels of readiness.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added that “Iran made a big mistake and it will pay for it”.
A revenge strike is likely to hit Iranian oil plants and air defence systems, but could also include targeted assassinations.
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It comes as Israel mourns the deaths of the first soldiers killed since its military launched a ground invasion of Lebanon earlier this week.
The focus of the operation is clearing out Hezbollah terror sites to halt rocket attacks which have driven 60,000 from homes in Northern Israel in the last 11 months, Israeli sources said.
But yesterday, fierce fighting erupted and at least eight Israel Defence Forces soldiers were killed.
Commandos are believed to have been ambushed as they attempted to clear a village infested with dug-in militia.
The blow was the first serious setback for Israeli forces attempting to push the terror group’s elite Radwan Forces north to create a weapons-free buffer zone.
Five soldiers from Israel’s crack “Egoz’ Unit” Commando Brigade were cut down in a ferocious gun battle north of the Israeli frontier and four were seriously wounded.
Those killed have been named as Cpt. Harel Etinger, 23, Sgt. First Class Noam Barzilay, 22, Sgt. First Class Or Mantzur, 21, Sgt. First Class Nazar Itkin, 21, and Captain Itai Ariel Giat.
An American citizen has also been named as a victim of an Israeli strike on Lebanon.
Kamel Ahmad Jawad, from Dearborn, Michiganhad travelled to the terror hotbed to look after his elderly mother.
The dad-of-four, 56, died after being caught up in a blast in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on Tuesday, Detroit News reports.
Fighting has intensified in southern Lebanon after Israel poured in thousands more soldiers towards the war zone on Wednesday.
Last night, Hezbollah claimed to have blasted three Israeli tanks with missiles as they advanced towards a Lebanese border village.
The Iran-backed terror group said it “destroyed three Merkava tanks with rockets as they advanced towards the village of Maroun al-Ras.”
Israel has insisted the operation will be “limited and targeted raids” to demolish Hezbollah’s war machine near the border.
But there are fears escalations could drag the wider Middle East region into an all-out war, with Brits now evacuating Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s propaganda chief Mohammad Afif has warned its forces were “only in the first round” of a bloodbath battle.
What is the Iron Dome?
THE Iron Dome is a mobile, all-weather air defence system in Israel.
It is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and 155mm artillery shells fired from a distance of 4km to 70km.
It intercepts rockets that are travelling in the direction of a urban areas and brings them down – it is the first system of its kind in the world.
Developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, if can be operated in all weather conditions including fog, dust storm, low clouds and rain.
The system was ready for use in March 2011 and in April it had successfully intercepted a BM-21 Grad launched from Gaza for the first time.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the Iron Dome had shot down 90 per cent of rockets launched from Gaza that would have landed in populated areas.
It is now being used to fend off Iranian and Hezbollah strikes.
It is part of a future multi-tiered missile defence system being developed by Israel, but each interception rocket launch costs $50,000.
The dome is made up of missile batteries which are shaped like giant match boxes and are tilted in the direction of Gaza.
It can detect a target using radar and monitors its trajectory.
A control centre then calculates an interception point and then commands a rocket to launch if the foreign missile is heading towards an urban area.
Once in contact with the missile, the rocket explodes and brings it down.
Each launcher contains 20 Tamir Missiles with proximity war heads and there are several batteries positioned around the country.
Since being implemented in 2011 the computer systems have been updated, improved and upgrades to improve the accuracy of the rockets.
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