A video showing a Boeing 737 flying into Israel at the exact moment the Iron Dome air defence system blasts missiles out of the sky is gaining traction on social media. The clip has been posted on X (formerly Twitter) and other platforms by several users, including Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. The clip shows four bright explosions, believed to be Israel defensive missiles coming from the Iron Dome, near the plane moments before it lands at Tel Aviv airport.
The plane is seen dangerously close to a bright explosion in the sky. Two of the rockets explode as the plane passes underneath.
According to Mr Gerashchenko's tweet, the flight was El Al LY5108 from Tbilisi, Georgia, to Tel Aviv. Flight radar data showed it landed 15 minutes late.
Neither the airport, nor the airline has made any official statement about the incident.
The plane reached the Israeli city during the brutal night of heavy aerial strikes. According to Time Magazine and several other outlets, Hamas has fired 7,000 rockets toward Israel since the October 7 attack.
What is the Iron Dome defence system?
Israel activated the rocket-defence system in 2011 to intercept attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. In over a decade, it has intercepted thousands of rockets fired towards Israel.
The Iron Dome uses a series of batteries that use radars to detect incoming short-range rockets and intercept them. Each battery has three or four launchers, 20 missiles, and a radar, according to Raytheon, the US defence giant, which has co-produced the system with Israel's Rafael Defence Systems.
Once the radar detects a rocket, the system tracks its trajectory and fires a missile to intercept it. The missile is launched only if the incoming rocket is headed towards a populated area. If not, the rocket is allowed to land, thus conserving missiles.
According to Rafael, the Iron Dome is approximately 90 per cent effective, but the current war with Hamas has emerged as its stiffest challenge yet.
The system gets overwhelmed if a mass barrage of rockets is fired, allowing some to slip through.
