The current violence between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip erupted with a barrage of missiles from the Palestinian coastal enclave of Gaza toward Jerusalem. This attack set off a soundtrack of rocket attack sirens accompanied by Israel’s air defense system, the Iron Dome, whose interceptor missiles blew up incoming rockets into a bizarre fireworks-like display.

Although the Iron Dome has been in use since 2011, this most recent conflict, with its intense media coverage, has exposed the capabilities of the Iron Dome to the Israeli public and to the world. As heavy rocket fire reached multiple and widespread locations across the country, Israelis were largely protected.

The Iron Dome is made up of three parts: radar, a control center, and interceptor missiles. Radar senses when a rocket is launched against Israel; the control center calculates its flight path; interceptor missiles are launched to detonate the rocket before it gets too close to its target. Each Iron Dome launcher holds 20 interceptor missiles.

The Iron Dome protects Israelis from short-range threats, such as rockets, but not other weaponry. But the Iron Dome is supplemented by an aerial defense system called David’s Sling and by Arrow, which target more sophisticated ballistic missiles. Accuracy is estimated at 95 percent, which means that the alarms and defense systems have saved countless lives.