Video: Hamas rockets intercepted by Israel's 'Iron Dome'

A rare video captures events as Israel's "Iron Dome" missile defense system shoots down incoming Hamas rockets near Ashkelon, close to the Gaza border.

The first part of the video shows the defense system shooting down the incoming Hamas rockets. In the second part of the video, the system engages missiles, but apparently not all of them. The Iron Dome is a mobile, all-weather air defense system, which was designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 to 70 kilometers away, to prevent the rockets reaching a populated area. The Iron Dome system was created as a defensive countermeasure to the rocket threat against Israel's civilian population on its northern and southern borders, and uses technology first employed in Rafael's SPYDER system. The system was declared operational and initially deployed on March 27, 2011 near Beersheba, Israel.