Prime Minister Netanyahu visited an Iron Dome battery and an intercept control center in the south and evaluated its systems in real-time as air defense soldiers consider whether or not a target was hostile and decide – in mere seconds – whether to launch an interceptor.
The Prime Minister spoke with the soldiers and intercept personnel and was briefed on air defense operations since the start of the war, the deployment of a record number of Iron Dome batteries throughout the country, the interception of threats, and the very high proportion of success.
Brig. Gen. Biran reviewed the events of October 7th regarding the Iron Dome in which the anti-missile defensive array thwarted an unprecedented aerial assault on the State of Israel and lost three of its soldiers, who operated Iron Dome batteries during the massacres.
Prime Minister Netanyahu told the soldiers: "These fighting men and women who are operating our Iron Dome array are the shield of the State of Israel. People forget that since the start of the war, Hamas has launched around 10,000 rockets and missiles in Israel to kill our citizens."
He proclaimed: "You are doing sacred work. That is the difference between us and them: You are saving civilians while they sacrifice civilians and bring them into the war zone and do not allow them to leave, threatening them and even shooting at them so that they stay on the front line.
Netanyahu added: "We face a brutal enemy but do not forget who we are; neither do we forget who you are. We greatly appreciate what you are doing, which, of course, assists us in the war effort."