A “technical error” caused a malfunction in the Iron Dome missile defense system during Tuesday’s conflagration with Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip, an Israel Air Force investigation found.
During a barrage on Tuesday afternoon, several rockets hit populated areas in Sderot, including one that wounded three foreign nationals working on a construction site.
A ceasefire that took effect early Wednesday ended 24 hours of fighting during which more than 100 rockets were fired at the Jewish state.
The IAF said Thursday that the interception rate of rockets headed for populated areas during the flare-up was nevertheless 90.5%.
The exchange erupted early Tuesday morning when senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative Khader Adnan died in an Israeli prison after an 87-day hunger strike.
Thereafter, terrorists in Gaza fired four projectiles at Israel, which responded later in the afternoon by shelling Hamas targets in the Palestinian enclave. Following the IDF strikes, barrage after barrage of rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel, setting off warning sirens in numerous communities for the remainder of the day and overnight.
Amid the ongoing rocket fire, the IDF began striking terror assets in Gaza, including military compounds, weapons manufacturing sites and depots, a subterranean attack tunnel and training grounds.
Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the rocket fire, the worst such outbreak since a conflict in August 5-7 of last year.
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