The Iron Dome missile defense system in action. Photo: IDF.

Two IDF Iron Dome operators received praise for intercepting 85 percent of the rockets that the system has tried to stop. Furthermore, one technician went out to fix a malfunction in the system even though he was in the path of a missile.

Career officer Sergeant First Class Eli Zada was fixing a malfunctioning battery when a siren sounded signaling a grad missile was approaching. Zada remained even though Air Force safety regulations require troops to move dozens of meters away from the Iron Dome battery because it emits strong heat and fire when it launches an intercepting missile.

One of Zada’s fellow officers managed to pick him up with a jeep, just moments before the Iron Dome fired—but not before the system was fixed. “It could have ended very differently without the resourcefulness of the technician who insisted on staying on the battery at great risk to his own life,” Air Force officials stated.