May. 15, 2021 10:45 pm
A picture is worth a thousand words and a video is worth a thousand pictures. But some of the most powerful imagery from the battles between Israel and the terrorists of Hamas in Gaza this week are the still frames, not the clips, and in some cases the accompanying text.
Take this tweet from Townhall’s Guy Benson, for example.
Here we have rockets being fired indiscriminately (right) by Hamas terrorists fervently praying they will kill as many innocent Jews as possible. And we have the Jewish state’s defenses (left) roaring into action to prevent mass murder. Don’t disgrace yourself by denying it. pic.twitter.com/VjksDFyabk
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
By now, you’ve probably seen the videos: dark skies, illuminated by exploding balls of light, like alien spaceships doing battle or a terrifying fireworks display, scored by air raid sirens.
This is the view of Israel’s Iron Dome, the aerial defense system the country uses to intercept incoming short-range rockets. The intensifying conflict this week between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militia in control of Gaza, has offered a renewed glimpse of the Iron Dome in action.
The system has been in place for about a decade, developed with heavy financial and technical backing from the United States. It is, according to Israeli officials, about 90 percent effective at blocking the short-range rockets commonly used by Hamas and other groups in the region.
The air-defense system has maintained an interception rate of more than 90 percent, despite the heavy barrages directed at Israeli cities by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Gaza Strip, May 15: Israel continued to bombard the Gaza Strip with air raids and artillery shells on Saturday, as it stepped up the deployment of troops and tanks near the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza Killed More This Week Than Hamas Rockets Have in 20 Years
On 5/15/21 at 6:35 AM EDT
Newsweek has found.
The diverging body counts strengthen the narrative of Palestinian suffering and contribute to the increasing global calls for Israeli restraint.
Palestinians typically point to the higher death tolls on their side as evidence of Israel s disproportionate use of force. Israel says Palestinian militants would cause much higher casualties if not for the Jewish state s superior air defenses. It also accuses Palestinian militants of deliberately mingling with civilians for cover and propaganda purposes.
Based on Israeli data, 38 Israeli civilians have been killed between 2000 and 2020 by Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza. Palestinians say 122 of their people have been killed by Israel between Monday, May 10 and Friday, May 14. Palestinians do not give separate figures for militants and civilians. Israel does.