Critical infrastructure hit during attacks included Ben Gurion Airport, the Bazan oil refinery at Haifa’s port, the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, and Beer-Sheva’s Soroka Hospital.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Israel’s State Comptroller on Tuesday accused the country’s defense and national security bodies of failing, for years, to protect some of the state’s most sensitive civilian and strategic facilities from missile, rocket, and UAV threats — even as dangers escalated dramatically during two years of war.

The report, prepared by State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman, reviewed steps taken since a 2020 audit and concluded that despite repeated warnings, two major wars, and tens of thousands of aerial attacks, core deficiencies remain largely unaddressed.

The comptroller regularly reviews Israel’s preparedness and the effectiveness of government policies.

Other audits released by Englman on Tuesday included gaps in security on the new Tel Aviv light rail system, the readiness of Eilat’s Ramon Airport for a mass-casualty incident, the Ministry of Defense database’s protection from cyberattacks, and the employment of consultants at that ministry.

“Not one of the major shortcomings identified in the previous audit was corrected,” the report said, warning that critical infrastructure was left vulnerable at moments of unprecedented escalation.

The audit highlights the scale of the threat Israel has faced since October 7, 2023. From the start of that war until October 2024, more than 26,000 rockets, missiles, attack drones, and explosive UAVs were launched toward Israel.

The danger increased further during Israel’s June 2025 operation against Iran, when Tehran fired more than 500 ballistic missiles and nearly 1,000 UAVs.

Israel’s multilayered air defenses intercepted most projectiles, but some struck civilian and military sites.

These incidents, the report said, “underscored the urgent need for reinforced physical protection of essential facilities,” a need the Comptroller argues has not been met.

Critical infrastructure hit during attacks included Ben Gurion Airport, the Bazan oil refinery at Haifa’s port, the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, and Beer-Sheva’s Soroka Hospital.

Englman found that Israeli authorities failed to complete basic preparatory tasks such as mapping which critical facilities require reinforced protection, determining how they should be secured, or drafting a multi-year, budgeted national program.

Ministries and agencies debated responsibilities, but no single body assumed ownership.

Within the defense establishment, the report stated, “none of the relevant entities view themselves as responsible for the matter, let alone responsible for coordinating it,” resulting in years of inaction.

Internal documents cited in the report show that senior officials in at least one government body repeatedly warned the defense minister in 2019, 2021, and 2022 about rising missile threats and the absence of national planning. These letters, the Comptroller wrote, went unanswered.

Even after war erupted, the Ministry of Defense took only “isolated and limited measures,” failing to initiate or complete the facility-mapping process or present a protection plan to the government.

The MoD director-general and multiple defense ministers “did not promote treatment of the issue,” the audit said.

The National Security Council (NSC) was also criticized for failing to raise the matter with the Security Cabinet, despite its legal mandate to do so.

For years, the NSC did not propose cabinet discussion of the protection gap, even after the 2020 audit explicitly recommended doing so.

Only in late 2023—after an appeal from a senior official in a sensitive body—did the NSC begin limited activity, according to Englman.

A major obstacle remains the absence of a legal or regulatory framework. A comprehensive “Home Front Law,” intended to clarify emergency-preparedness responsibilities and empower the government to mandate protective measures, has been stalled in draft form for fourteen years.

A 2011 government decision intended to guide national infrastructure protection was never expanded to cover additional sensitive bodies, leaving a regulatory vacuum.

Budget disagreements also stalled progress. The Defense Ministry argued that fortifying all relevant sites would cost tens of billions of shekels, exceeding available resources, while the Finance Ministry maintained that the defense establishment could absorb the expense.

With no agreement on funding, no plan was presented to the cabinet.

Englman concluded that the prolonged failure to act “poses a significant risk to essential national systems,” particularly as hostile actors increasingly employ long-range precision weapons and explosive drones.

The Comptroller called on the prime minister, defense minister, and military chief of staff to immediately map critical facilities, establish a budgeted multi-year program, define interagency responsibilities, resolve funding mechanisms, and advance legislative and interim regulatory solutions.

In response to the audit, the Ministry of Defense said the “survival of vital facilities and the preservation of functional continuity are at the core of the ministry’s strategy,” and that detailed work plans have been formulated.

It said a joint team of ministry departments, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and other agencies has been established to map, prioritize, and define required protection packages.

Additional steps, the ministry said, include adding protective elements to key facilities, improving coordination with the IDF, and upgrading defenses at prioritized sites.

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Party accused of putting politics before security in missile defense shakeup.

By David Brummer, World Israel News

The UK Labour Party is facing mounting criticism over reports that it may drop Israeli-made components from Britain’s air defense systems, a move insiders say is meant to appease pro-Palestinian members of Parliament.

According to The Mail on Sunday, Labour ministers are considering replacing Rafael’s Israeli-developed command and control system—used in all seven of the UK’s current Sky Sabre air defense units—with the Norwegian NASAMS alternative.

The potential shift is part of a broader £1 billion (approximately $1.28 billion) defense upgrade outlined in the UK’s Strategic Defense Review, which includes enhanced missile and cyber defenses.

Although the Ministry of Defense (MoD) insists no final decision has been made, critics say the reported plan prioritizes political optics over proven military reliability.

“Keir Starmer doesn’t want to be seen to be close to Israel on defense,” a security source told The Mail on Sunday. “He’s terrified of the Palestinian lobby.”

The pressure comes amid growing demands from Labour backbenchers for a tougher stance on Israel, including suspending arms exports and granting official recognition to Palestine.

French President Emmanuel Macron, due in London this week, is also said to be urging faster recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Rafael’s technology is widely seen as a key component of the Sky Sabre system, which provides medium-range mobile air defense.

The Israeli defense company’s tech has been credited with saving lives on multiple battlefields.

Lord Walney, a crossbench peer and former chair of Labour Friends of Israel, warned against the possible shift: “It would be inexcusable if tried and tested Israeli components were no longer used simply for politically convenient reasons.”

He emphasized that with rising global instability, “Britain cannot afford to compromise on defense quality.”

Lord Austin, the UK’s trade envoy to Israel, echoed that concern in a recent House of Lords debate. He noted that Israeli technology has been vital to both the Royal Air Force and British troops overseas.

“The RAF would not be able to get its planes off the ground without Israeli technology,” he said.

“Our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan would have suffered greater losses without it.”

Despite the backlash, a Ministry of Defense spokesperson said on Sunday: “No procurement decision to switch to NASAMS has been made.”

The controversy has spotlighted the delicate balance Labour must strike between internal party pressures and national security priorities as it continues to lead the country.

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President Trump, during a meeting with U.S. servicemen, pledged to build the Golden Dome missile defense system, citing a recent case study in which all 169 projectiles were reportedly intercepted and neutralized.

TRUMP: GOLDEN DOME WILL BE THE LATEST AND THE GREATEST

“We had the Iron Dome, but somehow, Gretchen, Golden Dome sounds better to me.

A lot of it is going to be made in Michigan.”

Source: @RSBNetwork https://t.co/iRMTKI3G1N pic.twitter.com/6tg6jMLtNA

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 29, 2025

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Defense experts disagree on whether such a system is necessary or even feasible for the United States.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

President Donald Trump has proposed developing a missile defense system for the U.S. similar to Israel’s Iron Dome.

While Iron Dome has largely been successful in protecting Israelis from missile attacks, experts disagree on whether such a system is necessary or even feasible for the United States.

Recent drone sightings in sensitive U.S. locations have sparked calls to upgrade defense technology.

The system, which has already been adopted by Turkey and South Korea, is designed to defend against drones, hypersonic weapons, and long-range missiles.

Dr. Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, suggested that if Iron Dome were adapted for the U.S., it would likely be deployed in specific strategic areas rather than to protect entire cities.

“A U.S. version of Iron Dome would likely be deployed to protect battlefield units and strategic sites, rather than cities, which are better protected by systems designed to counter intercontinental ballistic missile threats,” Kalisky told The Media Line.

He added, “The U.S. possesses advanced capabilities, such as the AN/TPY-2 radar, which has significantly greater range and power.”

“Upgrading Iron Dome with more advanced radar systems and faster missiles could align it with systems like David’s Sling, which is designed to intercept more advanced threats,” Kalisky explained.

In 2019, the U.S. purchased two Iron Dome batteries from Israel, marking the first time Israel exported its Iron Dome technology.

The U.S. military has since tested the technology as a solution for dealing with short-range missiles and may adapt it to work in tandem with Patriot and THAAD, which target medium- and long-range missiles.

However, challenges have arisen in integrating this technology, designed for local, short-range threats, into broader defense scenarios.

While it may be possible to adapt Iron Dome to complement current U.S. defense systems, some experts argue it is not a practical solution.

Kalisky concluded, “The U.S. already has systems like Patriot, THAAD, and Aegis in place to counter medium- and long-range threats, including ballistic and cruise missiles. Integrating a short-range system like Iron Dome would require significant modifications to ensure compatibility and avoid redundancy.”

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