Israel's Iron Dome air defense system has encountered serious difficulties, intercepting only 65% ​​of the rockets launched by Iran in the last 24 hours, NBC News reported, citing a senior Israeli intelligence official. This is a significant decrease from the 90% successful interceptions the day before. According to the source, new Iranian missiles with increased speed and accuracy have reduced the reaction time of Israeli air defenses from 10-11 minutes to 6-7 minutes, which complicates the protection of strategic facilities and populated areas.

The conflict between Israel and Iran, which began on June 13 with Israeli airstrikes on Iranian military targets, has escalated into an intense exchange of attacks. According to The Washington Post, Iran has fired more than 400 ballistic missiles and drones at Israel over the past week, hitting cities including Haifa and Tel Aviv. Despite the high effectiveness of Israeli air defense systems, including Iron Dome, David's Sling and Arrow-3, about 40 sites in Israel were damaged, and the death toll has reached 24 people. Iranian missiles equipped with terminal navigation systems were able to hit targets such as the Soroka hospital in Beersheba, CNN reported.

The Israeli military admits that the Iron Dome, designed to intercept short-range missiles, is being overwhelmed by the massive attacks. According to Reuters, the system is using two Tamir interceptors, which cost about $50, per target, straining its stockpiles. With reaction times shrinking and the number of high-speed missiles increasing, Iran is using “saturation” tactics to overwhelm Israeli defenses. As Al Jazeera notes, Iranian ballistic missiles are capable of maneuvering, making them more difficult to intercept.

Iran, for its part, says the attacks are a response to Israeli aggression. According to Press TV, Tehran considers the strikes on Israel "punishment" for attacks on its nuclear and military facilities. Iranian authorities claim that their missile arsenal remains significant despite Israeli attempts to destroy the launchers. At the same time, according to The Times of Israel, Israel continues to strike Iranian weapons factories in the western provinces in order to weaken the enemy's missile potential.