The Iron Dome could not protect Dimona and Arad from Iranian ballistics

The Israeli "Iron Dome" was unable to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles that hit the cities of Arad and Dimona. It is reported by the British The Guardian.

"Over the weekend, Iranian ballistic missile attacks wounded nearly 200 people in southern Israel, hitting the towns of Arad and Dimona after air defense systems failed to intercept at least two projectiles," the newspaper writes.

About half of the missiles launched from Iran after the start of the US-Israeli war against it had cluster warheads.

The Guardian, analyzing the consequences of dozens of Iranian strikes, as well as statements by Israeli officials, has identified at least 19 ballistic missiles with cluster warheads that have penetrated Israeli airspace and hit urban areas since the beginning of the war. "Since the beginning of the war, Iranian cluster munitions, which scatter dozens of bombs in the air, have tested Israel's highly developed multi—level missile defense network, including the Iron Dome, designed to counter threats at different distances, altitudes and speeds, exposing gaps that interception could not close," the newspaper writes.

"Intercepting cluster munitions is fundamentally more difficult than stopping unitary missiles, due to several technical changes in the defeat profile. For effectiveness, the interceptor must strike the vehicle before dispersing," explained Tal Inbar, a missile expert who advises Israeli defense companies.

Cluster bombs are designed to drop dozens of smaller bombs, called submunitions, over a large area. Israeli officials argue that even a direct interception of a ballistic missile, before its warhead splits and disperses the combat load, does not always guarantee the complete neutralization of submunitions.

At the same time, the Israeli military claims to have destroyed more than 70% of Iran's ballistic missile launchers, adding that they almost completely controlled the airspace of this country.

As reported by EADaily, Iran launched a missile attack on the Israeli city of Dimona, where the nuclear research center is located. This was reported by ParsToday Russian. According to Israeli media, dozens of people were injured.