Iron Dome blind spot, GPS disruptions likely responsible for couple’s death in rocket barrage
The Israel Defence Force’s preliminary investigation into the rocket strike that killed two Golan residents in their car on Tuesday revealed that no interceptor was launched because the Air Force classifies roads as “open areas.”
Nir and Noa Baranes, killed in a Hezbollah rocket barrage on July 9, 2024. Photo courtesy the family
The Air Force, which oversees Israel’s air defence systems, prioritizes protecting “populated areas.”
Nir and Noa Baranes were killed when a rocket fired by Hezbollah directly hit their car on Road 91 at the Nof Junction in the Golan Heights, a 10-minute drive from their home on Kibbutz Ortal. Road 91 is one of the Golan’s key traffic arteries, and there are several army bases along that road that were being targeted by Hezbollah. However, Home Front Command apps warning civilians of missile attacks do not alert the public about attacks on military facilities.
In a further twist, the army has been disrupting GPS signals in northern Israel in a bid to scramble the signals of enemy missiles and drones.
As a result, it is believed that husband and wife never received an alert about the barrage.
Nir was the manager of the agricultural kibbutz’s chicken coops. Noa was a secretary in the kibbutz’s plantation division. Both were 46 years old. They are survived by three children, ages 13-18.
Hezbollah fired a barrage of 40 rockets at northern Israel in what it said was retaliation for an Israeli airstrike that killed Yasser Karnabash, a former personal bodyguard of the terror group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Karnabash, who was killed while driving on the Beirut-Damascus Highway, was active in a Hezbollah unit overseeing arms transfers from Syria to Lebanon.
Around 60,000 Israelis living in northern communities were forced to evacuate in October when the Hezbollah terror organization began daily rocket and drone attacks. Leaders of the Iran-backed terror group have said they will continue the attacks to prevent Israelis from returning to their homes. Hezbollah attacks have killed 12 civilians and 16 soldiers.
Israeli officials have been calling for Hezbollah to be disarmed and removed from Southern Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
