Israel deploys anti-rocket battery near Egyptian border

The Israeli army deployed a battery of the Iron Dome system at Eilat near the borders of Israel with Egypt and Jordan, an Israeli army spokeswoman said on Monday.

The Iron Dome rocket interceptors system has been installed on the outskirts of Eilat, nearby the site where the remnants of a Grad rocket were found on Friday, Israeli daily Ynet reported.

Iron Dome, a system produced by Israel with the help of the U.S. funding, uses radar-guided missiles to blow up Katyusha rockets, Grad rockets and Palestinian resistance missiles such as the Qassam, with ranges of 5-70 km (3-45 miles) and mortar bombs in mid-air.

Last week, two explosions shook the area in a suspected cross-border shooting. Later, an unknown organization calling itself the "Salafi Sinai Front" issued a statement, on Thursday morning, in which it claimed responsibility for firing rockets at the city of Eilat.

Army representatives told Ynet the installation in Eilat was part of a nationwide program to familiarize the Iron Dome system with different topographies in Israel.

According to Israeli media, it is the first time the battery is being deployed in the border town.

It's worth mentioning that Eilat has been the target of missile attacks from Sinai in the recent past. An Islamist group in the Sinai had previously claimed responsibility for numerous bombing attacks against a pipeline carrying gas to Israel via the Sinai, as well as rocket attacks against Israel, particularly against town of Eilat.

In related news, Voice of Israel radio reported Saturday that Egypt has deployed both anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles near Israel’s border in the Egyptian Sinai, without Israel’s permission.

At the same time, Israeli army sources said that after threat of the Secretary General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, that his party can make life of hundred thousands of Israelis a hell, Israel decided to deploy more than two Iron Dome rocket interceptors system near it's border with Lebanon.

On Friday, Nasrallah said that, "there are some targets in occupied Palestine, which could be easily bombed by a small number of our missiles and this will lead to killing tens of thousands and not hundreds according to the Israeli Authority's statements. Hezbollah is working on these goals willing to harm Israel badly," he added.

Sources:

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=5474

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/08/20/233195.html