Tensions in the Middle East are rising. Iranian airstrikes are increasing pressure on Israel’s air defense system. The system was once seen as highly reliable. Recent attacks have breached its defenses.

"Our air defense system is the best in the world, but it is not hermetic. There are mistakes, there are malfunctions," said Chief of Staff of the IDF’s Air Defense Systems, Colonel L.

The Israeli military said Saturday it identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israeli territory, with defense systems working to intercept the threat. The Home Front Command

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday the U.S. should not provide funding for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, clarifying her position on the issue. “The Israeli government is well able to fund the Iron Dome system,

Israeli civil defence has significantly upgraded its public warning system, to make daily life more manageable under the constant threat of missile fire.

Last summer, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D- N.Y., voted against an amendment to cut off aid for Israel’s missile defense. Her vote was a striking break with several progressives whom she often has voted alongside, including Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and enraged many on the pro-Palestinian left.

In a message to the International Conference for the Support of Arab Peoples in Cairo in January 1969, Ho Chi Minh declared that the Vietnamese people “vehemently condemn the Israeli aggressors” and “fully support the Palestinian people’s liberation movement”.

Iran shooting down two American military aircraft marks an exceedingly rare assault for the U.S. that has not happened in more than 20 years