The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has published the first images of its Iron Sting defense system online. The Iron Sting is described as “an innovative and accurate mortar bomb,” uses “precise, laser and GPS guided mortar munition” to locate targets in densely urbanized areas to “reduce collateral damage.”
When testing of the system was completed in 2021, then-Defense Minister Benny Gantz said it is precisely what Israel needs to maintain its commitment to legal and moral standards while engaging the enemy in civilian and urban environments.
The images, posted on X, showed Israeli forces destroying a Hamas rocket launcher after hitting it with pinpoint accuracy. The IDF said it had “thwarted dozens of terrorists” using the technology.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant recently visited IDF troops on the frontline as they await orders for a complete ground assault inside the Gaza Strip. “We will be precise and forceful, and we will keep going until we fulfill our mission,” he told the soldiers.
Eylon Levy, an Israeli government spokesman, meanwhile lashed out at the media and growing calls for a ceasefire, saying this is a pro-Hamas position.“Demanding a ceasefire from Israel is saying that Hamas should get away with what it did — and should keep its ability to do it again,” Levy said.
While a full-scale insurgence deep into Gaza is still awaited, Israel has carried out operations within the region’s borders. The IDF says it has struck targets on the outskirts of Gaza City in operations involving tanks, drones, and bulldozers.
In the meantime, US forces launched air strikes against Iranian weapons and ammunition stocks in Syria in retaliation for an Iran-backed attack on an American warship in the Mediterranean. A US official said there had also been a rocket attack at a US diplomatic support center near Baghdad, Iraq.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said President Biden ordered the retaliatory strikes “to make it clear that the United States will not tolerate such attacks.”
