Israel has been quietly developing an anti-missile system that really works, at least on the small scale — when you have hostile groups living right next door with no compunctions about using missiles to kill people indiscriminately: Israel says tests on Iron Dome missile shield have been a success.

Israel has announced the successful testing of its Iron Dome anti-missile system, said to be capable of intercepting rockets launched by militants in Gaza and South Lebanon.

The shield, which fires missiles at incoming threats that it identifies by radar, is being called a “gamechanger” in the way that Israel can conduct its defences.

The system can estimate where a missile will land, targeting those that will hit populated areas while ignoring missiles heading for open ground, military experts said.

Iron Dome would stop missiles with a range of between 4 and 70 kilometres (2.5 and 45 miles), spanning smaller mortar shells from Gaza to the Iranian-made Fajr rockets fired by Hezbollah in Lebanon.