It’s like Star Wars, knocking missiles out of the sky above your head. Daily Mail reporter who saw the Iron Dome in action tells why Israelis seem so unflappable amid Iran war
It’s like Star Wars, knocking missiles out of the sky right above your head.
I’d been to Israel before, but it wasn’t until covering its war with Hamas that I understood what the Iron Dome means to the country.
Within days of arriving at work as a news correspondent in January 2024, I was at a bus stop in southeastern Tel Aviv during rush hour, surrounded by students with their backpacks, old women with their shopping bags and soldiers with rifles – all waiting for the same bus.
As I stood there, intrigued by this uniquely Israeli scene, a shrill, oscillating howl started blaring all around us. It took me a few seconds to realize it was a ‘Red Alert,’ Israel’s missile warning siren.
Everyone started running.
Some took cover under nearby trees. Others shielded themselves next to a concrete wall. Still others, including little kids and uniformed soldiers, ran up a small hill behind us for a clearer view of the sky.
I followed them, naively reaching for my notebook and pen in hopes of snagging a quick interview before whatever happened next. But there was no time.
Within about 45 seconds of when the sirens started, we could hear Hamas rockets that had been fired from Gaza zooming northward through the late-afternoon sky.
After what seemed like only a split second, we could see white smoke trails from a volley of interceptor missiles zig-zagging toward them, destroying them with booms and bright flashes above us.
I landed in Tel Aviv to cover Israel’s war with Hamas, and within days I witnessed the Iron Dome in action while waiting for a bus, as the ‘Red Alert’ – Israel’s missile warning siren – blared overhead
Civilians around me took cover while some ran up the hill to see the interception – within seconds, I could hear the missiles from Gaza (PICTURED: Civilians taking cover from an Iranian airstrike on February 28)
Within days after arriving in Tel Aviv as a news correspondent in 2024, Daily Mail reporter Susan Greene tells how she ran for shelter as a ‘Red Alert’ siren wailed
Bam. Just like that. Kind of like fireworks, but louder and far more comforting.
The crowd around me let out sighs of relief, with looks on their faces that read, ‘Phew, I’m okay, you’re okay.’ Then our bus came, and we all boarded and went on with our evening.
It was later reported that Israel’s Iron Dome system intercepted those rockets with no reported casualties and only one vehicle south of Tel Aviv damaged by the debris.
Although memorable for me as an American unaccustomed to missile attacks, that barrage was merely a blip for Israelis – one of thousands of strikes aimed at their nation over decades of war, and one of thousands more it has launched at Palestinian territories and other neighbors since its inception in 1948.
Although Americans would stroke out at the sight and sound of missiles in our skies, Israelis have become much more at ease with the risks because of their mobile air defense systems designed to intercept threats before they hit.
The US provided about $2.6billion in funding for Iron Dome from 2011 to 2022, and recent aid packages since 2024 have included multi-billion-dollar allocations for it and related systems.
Total US support for Israeli missile defense is estimated between $5billion and $7billion.
Iron Dome was developed after Israel was struck with 39 scuds fired by Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War and with about 4,000 rockets fired by Hezbollah during its second war with Lebanon in 2006.
After the Iron Dome intercepted the incoming rockets, the crowd let out sighs of relief and continued with their evening. I headed back to the street to catch my bus, later learning that Israel had reported no casualties and only one car had been damaged by debris
While most Americans would panic at the sight and sound of missiles streaking overhead, Israelis have grown accustomed to the danger, relying on mobile air defense systems that intercept threats before they strike
The Iron Dome was developed after Israel endured 39 Scud missiles from Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War in 1991
Operational since 2011, it detects incoming short-range rockets, artillery shells, mortars and drones, and calculates their trajectory.
If they’re headed toward open land – which is relatively scarce in a country roughly the size of New Jersey – IDF tends not to intercept them.
But if they’re headed toward a populated area or critical infrastructure such as military bases, airports, power plants or highways, Iron Dome destroys them mid-air, often at altitudes of a few kilometers.
Sirens typically give the public 30 to 90 seconds of warning, allowing them to move quickly to reinforced shelters, stairwells or safe rooms – that is, when they’re not out and about, say, waiting for buses.
Although Israel is now not only facing missiles from Iran, but also from Hezbollah in Lebanon, with the two countries’ close proximity meaning there’s a shorter amount of time for people to take cover once the warning sirens go off.
When Iran bombs Israel, people have around ten to 12 minutes to take shelter. But when Lebanon bombs, it’s only about a minute and a half, tops.
Iron Dome has intercepted thousands of rockets, with a success rate reported between 85 and 95 percent, and is considered one of the most effective missile defense systems in the world.
It’s credited for reducing civilian casualties in recent conflicts with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
It’s also credited with allowing schools and businesses in Israel to remain open during conflicts, and with helping Israelis feel relatively safe in a tiny country that increasingly has been waging war on its neighbors.
‘It allows life to go on here, even in the face of danger,’ Yaakov Katz, an American-born Israeli journalist and analyst on Israeli military and defense affairs, told the Daily Mail on Tuesday from his home in Jerusalem.
Yaakov Katz, an American-born Israeli journalist (pictured with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo), told the Daily Mail that the missile interception systems ‘allows life to go on here, even in the face of danger’
Sirens typically give the public 30 to 90 seconds of warning, enough time to rush to reinforced shelters, stairwells or safe rooms
Civilians were enjoying their day at the beach in Tel Aviv on March 3, even though the Israeli military reported detecting missiles launched from Iran throughout the day
Civilians appeared at ease inside a Tel Aviv underground shelter on March 3, as schools and businesses remained open despite the ongoing war, thanks to the country’s advanced defense systems
The Iron Dome (left) isn’t the country’s only missile defense system. David’s sling (center), which has been active since 2017 as a defense from medium-range missiles, and the Arrow 3 system (right), which protects against long-range missiles, have both been active
Red Alert missile sirens have been blaring sporadically there since Israel and the US started attacking Iran on Saturday.
‘It means that when there’s not a siren, we can go out, go to the grocery store, to the park. It gives a sense of security and confidence that allows us to exhibit some kind of resilience at a time like this.’
Iron Dome isn’t Israel’s only missile defense system. The IDF has what it calls a layered defense strategy with systems that also intercept medium- and long-range threats.
The so-called David’s Sling, which has been protecting the country from medium-range missiles since 2017, has an estimated 80 to 90 percent success rate. And Israel’s Arrow 3 system has a similar success rate intercepting long-range missiles, including those from outside Earth’s atmosphere.
President Donald Trump is eyeing a similarly multi-layered missile defense, including space-based tracking systems, for the US that he refers to as the ‘Golden Dome.’
He issued an executive order in 2025 directing development of the next-generation system, tasking the US Space Force to lead its approximately $25billion planning and development.
Although the IDF has not confirmed which systems it has been using to thwart attacks from Iran and Lebanon since the US and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury on Saturday, both David’s Sling and Arrow – along with other systems deployed by the US and other countries – were credited with keeping Israelis relatively safe from Iranian missile attacks in 2024 and 2025.
Katz has lived in Israel since the 1990s. As he tells it, missile defense systems have ‘completely changed reality’ there.
Trump is pursuing a similar multi-layered missile defense system for the United States, dubbed the ‘Golden Dome,’ and in 2025 issued an executive order directing its development – tasking the US Space Force with leading the roughly $25billion planning and build-out.
Jerusalem-based photographer Alon Spiegel says it is Israel’s Iron Dome and broader air defense network that have enabled him to remain on his rooftop since Saturday, documenting incoming missiles as they arc overhead
‘It is, I’d say, a uniquely Israeli thing to see a threat, understand it and adapt to it by applying a solution to eliminate it,’ he told us.
That said, he noted that years of success with its missile defense systems gave Israel ‘a false sense of complacency’ – most notably leading up to Hamas’ ground attack on October 7, 2023.
‘It was a reminder, for sure, that we can get surprised in a very different way,’ he said.
Like many Israelis, Katz sees his country’s investment in missile defense – and an extensive system of safe rooms and bomb shelters – as a key difference between it and its neighbors.
‘We defend our citizens and, tragically, our enemies invest tremendous resources in putting their citizens at risk. I think that’s a stark contrast between them and us.’
Other Israelis we spoke with expressed empathy for Iranians enduring this war without the same kinds of protections.
‘I really feel for them, living under a regime that puts them at risk, leaves them starving and unsafe,’ said Dalit, an archeologist in Jerusalem who asked that we not print her last name.
‘But I’m absolutely certain that they don’t blame Israel for not having shelters, bread, water or systems to protect them. I think they know who is to blame.’
Alon Spiegel is a photographer in Jerusalem who credits his country’s Iron Dome and other defense systems for his ability to stand on his rooftop since Saturday, photographing incoming missiles.
‘There’s no way I’d be up there without them,’ he told us. ‘My God, that would be suicide.’
