March 2, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\nThe exchange unfolded as Israeli forces were simultaneously conducting strikes against Iranian regime targets in Tehran.<\/p>\n
Against that backdrop, Israel\u2019s Iron Beam laser defense system, long in development and recently delivered to the IDF, took part in intercepting aerial threats launched from Lebanon, according to defense sources familiar with the deployment. The participation of the laser system marks a significant milestone: the first time the energy-based weapon has operated as part of Israel\u2019s active air defense network during renewed hostilities with Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
Iron Beam, developed by Rafael and also known as \u201cOr Eitan,\u201d is designed to intercept rockets, drones and other short-range aerial threats using a powerful laser beam. Unlike traditional missile-based systems such as Iron Dome, which fire interceptor rockets costing about $50,000 each, a laser interception is estimated by senior defense officials to cost only \u201ca few shekels.\u201d<\/p>\n
That dramatic difference in per-shot cost has fueled enthusiasm around the system, particularly as Israel has faced prolonged campaigns involving thousands of rockets. Since its first operational interception in 2011, Iron Dome has intercepted more than 10,000 rockets launched from Gaza and Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Yet the economics of laser defense are more complex than the per-interception figure suggests. Each laser targeting unit, effectively the \u201cpointer\u201d directing the beam capable of incinerating aerial threats, is estimated to cost several tens of millions of dollars. With an effective range currently limited to approximately 10 kilometers, protecting large swaths of territory would require the deployment of dozens, potentially hundreds, of such units.<\/p>\n
The Iron Beam functions as a complementary layer to Iron Dome. Soldiers in command-and-control vehicles must decide in real time whether to engage an incoming threat with a cheap laser beam or launch an expensive Tamir interceptor missile. In heavy barrages involving dozens of rockets, both capabilities can be activated simultaneously.<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s escalation began when Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching rockets at what it described as a military site south of Haifa, saying the attack was in response to the assassination of Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by Israel.<\/p>\n
The IDF responded with what local authorities described as a \u201cwave of strikes\u201d expected to continue in the coming days. Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, the IDF\u2019s Arabic-language spokesperson, issued evacuation warnings to residents of more than 50 villages in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley, urging them to move at least 1,000 meters into open areas.<\/p>\n
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the rocket launches as a \u201creckless act\u201d that endangered Lebanon\u2019s security and said the country would take measures to prevent being drawn into a broader conflict.<\/p>\n