Israel: The Dead End Strategy

The fighting in Gaza has left nearly 2,000 dead, over 96 percent of them Palestinian. Hamas says it won’t stop fighting until the Israeli-Egyptian blockade is lifted. Israel and Egypt refuse to do that until Hamas drops its support for terrorism and disarms. Since Israeli troops left Gaza (and Hamas took control in 2007) Gaza has become a sanctuary for Islamic terrorists. Most seek the destruction of Israel but a growing number seek to establish a religious dictatorship in Egypt. Hamas does not expect to get the blockade lifted but does see itself gaining respect (and cash donations along with more diplomatic support) in the Moslem world. At the moment Hamas is still designated an international terrorist organization by the UN, most Western nations and even some Moslem ones.

 

Israel has plenty of electronic and video evidence of Hamas using ceasefires to move weapons and personnel and prepare to continue firing on Israel. Broadcasting this evidence is opposed by Israeli intelligence officials because putting the evidence out there enables Hamas to see where and how they are vulnerable to detection. With this knowledge Hamas can better hide its activities in the future.

  

Hamas has fired over 3,300 rockets since July 9^th. Some 70 percent landed in Israel but less than four percent hit populated areas (killing three and wounding 85 civilians) . Iron Dome intercepted about a quarter of the rockets fired at Israel as the Iron Dome computers predicted these would land in or near a populated area. About 20 percent of the rockets fired towards Israel were defective and landed inside Gaza or were aimed at targets in Gaza. This included some of the 11 percent of all rockets were fired at Israeli troops inside or near Gaza. Some 69 percent of the rockets were fired from northern Gaza (where most of the Israeli counterstrikes have been) while 13 percent were launched from central Gaza and the rest from southern Gaza. Over 80 percent of the rockets were fired from unpopulated areas but at least 18 percent were fired from locations that were clearly civilian (including schools, Mosques and medical facilities.) Hamas was believed to have had about 10,000 rockets in early July. Since then over 3,000 have been fired and over 4,000 destroyed before they could be fired. Israeli aircraft, helicopters, ships, armored vehicles and ground troops have attacked nearly 5,000 targets in Gaza since July 9^th and about a third of those attacks were against rocket launching sites, often while rockets were being prepared for launch. Hamas rockets have killed three Israeli civilians and 64 military personnel (and 670 wounded) so far. Some 82,000 Israeli reservists have been mobilized and most have been sent to the Gaza border. Hamas considers each Israeli they kill a victory and plays that up in their media. The Israeli military casualty rate is about the same as the U.S. suffered at the height of the fighting in Iraq. In other words; historically quite low. 

  

Some Israeli leaders want the ground troops to go back in and shut down Hamas once and for all. But that would involve a lot of combat and if Gaza were to be completely cleared of Islamic terrorists hundreds of Israeli troops would die and thousands wounded. Most Israeli politicians do not believe Israelis in general are willing to pay that high a price. Instead Israel will continue using its intelligence capabilities to find Hamas personnel and weapons and attack them with smart bombs and missiles. Other Islamic terrorist groups in Gaza are also being hit. But the Islamic terrorists are hiding among the 1.8 million civilians in Gaza. There are several hundred thousand buildings and hundreds of tunnels and bunkers. Less than one percent of these structures holds terrorist weapons or personnel and the Israelis already know that they cannot watch all of Gaza in great detail all the time. Israeli military leaders point out that there would be a lot of Palestinian civilian casualties because Hamas deliberately surrounds its weapons and key personnel with civilians. While some Palestinians answer the Hamas propaganda and volunteer for this duty, most do not and will flee if given a chance. For Hamas victory is simply surviving and still being able to issue victory statements. Israeli victory is suppressing terrorist capabilities. Ultimate victory is eliminating the terrorist threat but given the massive support for destroying Israel in the Arab world, ultimate victory remains a long term goal, not one that can be won right now in Gaza. Right now most media in the Arab (and Moslem) world portray Hamas as misguided but valiant fighters for a cause (the destruction of Israel) that still has a lot of popular support in the Moslem world. Most Westerners, especially journalists, don’t grasp that aspect of the situation and try to portray Gaza as a humanitarian disaster that only Israel can fix. Most Israelis are exasperated at the attitude of so many non-Moslems overseas and attributes it to ignorance, greed (oil-rich Arab states have spent billions to push the Arab point of view towards Israel) or anti-Semitism.

  

Despite the continued hostile attitude in the Arab world, Israel is seeing some progress. A growing number of Arab states officially classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. The most obvious of these is Egypt. This influences media coverage of the fighting in Arab media. This time around there is more emphasis on the suffering of Gaza civilians and not the Hamas fighters. Many Egyptian journalists and pundits openly call for Israel to destroy Hamas once and for all. A growing number of Arabs are giving up on Islamic radicalism as a solution for anything and many are calling for more international efforts to crush this latest round of Islamic terrorism.

  

Israel also wants to kill the military leadership of the Qassam Brigades (the military/terror portion of Hamas), who are believed to be the prime proponents of constant rocket attacks on Israel, despite ceasefires that the political leaders of Hamas have negotiated. The key Hamas official here is the head of the Qassam Brigades; Muhammad Deif. Israel see Deif the way the Americans did Osama bin Laden, as the one guy responsible for many attacks. There are at least ten key Qassam Brigades personnel Israel consider largely responsible for the persistent (despite five ceasefires) rocket attacks as well as the effort to send Islamic terrorists through tunnels into Israel. A growing number (up to a quarter) of the Hamas rockets are either damaged or launched incorrectly. This indicates the cumulative damage on the rocket supply and the personnel trained to launch them. In addition to a few remaining tunnels into Israel, Hamas is also believed to have several thousand rockets left and hundreds of Qassam Brigades fanatics willing to anything to launch them. 

  

The current war between Israel and Hamas was only partly about the persistent rocket attacks against Israel. Israel made it clear, soon after the fighting broke out in early July, that  one of its primary objectives was to find and destroy all the tunnels Hamas had dug into Israel over the last few years. This could only be accomplished if Israeli troops were inside Gaza and able to search for the places where the tunnels started. Hamas boasted about how it had lots of these tunnels and planned to use them to get terrorists into Israel to capture or kill Israelis. So far Israel has found and destroyed 32 tunnels that extended into Israel and several more that were just used inside Gaza. Israeli intelligence, because of the several weeks Israeli troops were inside Gaza, has a better idea where additional tunnels are and Israel is hustling to come up with more effective detection methods. Currently the best method is using a large mobile drill (normally used for digging wells) to go deep dozens of times in an area where a tunnel is suspected until it is found. That method is being used now on the Israeli side of the border but it is slow work. The most obvious opportunity here is for better sensors. One idea is a series of wireless sensors buried a few meters down all along the Gaza border that will broadcast the unavoidable sounds the Hamas men would make as they dug towards the surface to “open” a tunnel on the Israeli side. For obvious reasons the Israelis are giving out any details on this sort of thing but at the moment it’s one of the best potential solution for the tunnel threat. Meanwhile Israel is trying to make the UN and other major Hamas donors (like Arab oil states) understand that a large chunk (over $10 million in the last few years) of their aid money has gone to this enormous tunnel project and that better management of aid to Gaza could reduce the amount being spent on tunnels and terrorism in general.

  

The tunnels are not a new problem. The Palestinians in Gaza have been building tunnels (mainly into Egypt for smuggling) since the 1980s. The Egyptians long tolerated this because the local Egyptian police and soldiers got bribed and that kept everyone happy. But tunnels into Israel were another matter, because these were not for smuggling but for killing or kidnapping Israelis. No bribes involved here, just murder and abduction (for ransom). Israeli combat engineers had been trained to destroy discovered tunnels, which was not easy because Hamas had booby-trapped some of them. 

  

Lost amidst all the other stories is the fact that Israeli negotiators are trying work out a deal to get back the bodies of two Israeli soldiers that Hamas made away with. Israel is offering to release 25 Palestinians from prison for the bodies but Hamas wants a whole lot more. Earlier negotiations over the remains of dead Israelis went on for years.

  

Another story that does not get covered is the fact that most of Gaza is unharmed. Despite the thousands of Israeli bombs, missiles  and artillery shells fired into Gaza in the last month over 96 percent of the structures in Gaza are intact. Israel is using smart bombs and guided missiles meaning that most of the attacks destroy or damage individual structures, not entire neighborhoods as in the past (before smart bombs became standard). Images of all those intact Gaza towns and neighborhoods do not attract a lot of eyeballs and are not considered newsworthy. Another bit of non-news is the 40,000 tons of humanitarian aid (most of it food and medical supplies) Israel has allowed into Gaza since July 9^th. Also non-news are the thousands of Israeli attacks called off at the last minute because civilians were detected in the target area.

  

In Egypt several thousand additional soldiers and dozens of armored vehicles have been sent to the Libyan border in the last week. This is all to deal with the growing smuggling activity there, much of it involving Islamic terrorist groups bringing in weapons stolen from army warehouses left unguarded during the 2011 revolution. Those weapons have been selling briskly on the black market in Egypt. The customers are gangsters, Islamic terrorists and people seeking some illegal protection.

 

Meanwhile the military revealed that since the end of July soldiers and police had killed 61 Islamic terrorists in Sinai and arrested more than a hundred known or suspected Islamic terrorists there. The raids had also captured large quantities of weapons, ammo and bomb making material. Also seized was 650 kg (1,430 pounds) of marihuana. In the last year over 500 soldiers and policemen have died fighting Islamic terrorists.

  

August 10, 2014: Israel and Hamas agreed to another 72 hour ceasefire to begin at 9 PM GMT (11 PM local time). Hamas has fired over a hundred rockets since the latest ceasefire collapsed on the 8^th.

August 9, 2014: Hamas managed to fire five more rockets into Israel, but there were no casualties or damage. Israel responded with attacks on at least 20 targets in Gaza. A bomb that hit a mosque killed three people, including a senior Hamas leader. Hamas has fired at least 70 rockets since the latest ceasefire collapsed on the 8^th.

  

In Egypt a court dissolved the political wing of the Moslem Brotherhood (which was outlawed last September). This cuts off Moslem Brotherhood members from an legitimate participation in Egyptian politics. Earlier this year Egypt elected another military man, who replaces one who was overthrown in 2011. The government has arrested over 10,000 people since the coup a year ago but now the military is in charge legally. The newly elected president (Abdul al Sisi) is a former general and is determined to crush the Moslem Brotherhood and other more radical Islamic terrorist groups.

 

Hundreds of Islamic radicals have been sentenced to death or long prison terms in the last year. This is all a repeat of what happened twenty years ago during the last Islamic radical uprising against a corrupt and inefficient government. The army promises it will be different this time, but they always do that and it never is. President Sisi has made it clear that he sees Islamic terrorism as the greatest danger the region faces. At the same time Sisi is making moves to get the economy going although it’s doubtful he will do anything about the corruption.

  

August 8, 2014:  Another ceasefire ended with Hamas firing 61 rockets at Israel. These resulted in two Israelis wounded by rocket fragments. Israel promptly responded with attacks on 70 terrorist targets in Gaza. The resumption of fighting was disappointing to Egypt, which is trying to persuade Hamas to make a long-term peace deal. While the Egyptian diplomats can appeal to Hamas as fellow Arabs, Hamas tends to have difficulty of hiding their contempt for Egypt, which Hamas considers traitors for classifying Hamas as a terrorist organization and cracking down on Islamic terrorist groups inside Egypt. Many Egyptians believe Islamic terrorism is a dead end strategy, but Hamas believes just the opposite. 

  

In Egypt (along the Gaza border) several army raids left eleven Islamic terrorists dead and several smuggling tunnels destroyed.

  

August 5, 2014: Israel pulled its ground troops out of Gaza as another 72 hour ceasefire went into effect. Hamas announced that former Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha was found dead in a bombed building. Several days later rumors began coming out of Gaza that Taha had been executed. Medical staff and others saw his body at the hospital and morgue and despite orders to keep quiet, began talking. Taha was apparently being punished for secretly supplying Egypt with information on Hamas activities. Unwilling to admit that such a high-ranking official was a traitor, Hamas went with the “killed by an Israeli bomb” angle after putting Taha in front of a firing squad. 

  

In Egypt (North Sinai) soldiers killed three Islamic terrorists and captured six others who were being sought. One raid also seized an SUV and sixteen motorcycles used for terrorist attacks. Elsewhere (outside Alexandria) five policemen and four Islamic terrorists died in a clash on a road to the beach. 

  

August 4, 2014: Iran openly boasted of sending long range rockets to Gaza and ordered that an effort be made to get modern surface to air missiles into Gaza so Hamas can shoot down Israeli warplanes and helicopters. Actually, the shoulder fired missiles have been in Gaza for some time but Israeli aircraft have effective defenses against these missiles. Iran apparently wants to get larger and more effective anti-aircraft systems into Gaza. Iran has not commented on the fact that the Hamas use of rockets this time around has been a complete failure, with only three Israeli civilian (the main target for these rockets) deaths resulting mainly because of the Israeli Iron Dome anti-rocket system.

  

August 3, 2014: Israel pulled most of its troops out of Gaza.

  

August 2, 2014: Israel announced that one of its soldiers might have been captured. It later turned out that the soldier had been killed in combat while cut off from other troops. 

  

August 1, 2014: A ceasefire in Gaza collapsed hours after it began when more rockets were fired at Israel.

Israeli David's Sling anti-missile system unveiled in Paris

David's Sling, designed to protect Israel from midrange missiles, is expected to be operational within two years • It will become part of Israel's multilayered missile defense network, which also includes the Iron Dome and Arrow systems. 

David's Sling was co-developed by the Israeli firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the U.S. firm Raytheon. It is designed to protect Israel from midrange missiles. It has a range of more than 160 kilometers (around 100 miles).

The system is expected to be operational within two years. 

David's Sling will become part of Israel's multilayered missile defense network, which includes the already operational Iron Dome and Arrow 2 systems, as well as the Arrow 3, which is in development. 

The Iron Dome intercepts short-range threats while the Arrow shoots down long-range threats.

Israel - Iron Dome Keeps Moving

Israel has moved a third Iron Dome anti-rocket system north, to deal with any possible attacks coming out of Syria. There, the two year old civil war is leading to weapons storage sites being captured by rebels and the contents disappearing. Israel fears that someone will grab some rockets and someone to operate them and launch attacks on Israel. Northern Israel is sparsely populated and not very vulnerable to the many 122mm artillery rockets favored by terrorists because these only have a range of about 20 kilometers. But the Syrians have hundreds of longer range missiles and rockets that can reach Israel’s largest cities farther south. Another problem with this is that the cities are easier to hit because the populated area is so large. This caused some unexpected problems with Iron Dome last Novemb 

Although the Iron Dome system succeeded in shooting down about 85 percent of the rockets Hamas fired at Israeli populated areas last November, the number that had to be shot down was something of a shock. It was originally believed that only ten percent of rockets fired at smaller towns and villages would need to be intercepted by Iron Dome missiles. The rest would fall into unpopulated areas that are common near the northern and southern borders.  But the eight day bombardment by Hamas rockets last November saw 1,500 larger or longer ranged rockets fired at larger targets (cities). This meant a third of the rockets headed for populated areas and thus needing an Iron Dome interceptor missile. Even though Israel has ordered more Iron Dome missiles, too many rockets headed for populated areas in a short time means some incoming rockets that should get an interceptor missile won’t. 

A solution may lie in Iron Dome’s software. Iron Dome uses two radars to quickly calculate the trajectory of the incoming rocket and does nothing if the rocket trajectory indicates it is going to land in an uninhabited area. But if the computers predict a rocket coming down in an inhabited area, a Tamir guided missile is fired to intercept the rocket. This makes the system cost-effective. Further improvements in the software may make it less necessary to fire missiles. That's mainly because most of these unguided rockets land in uninhabited areas but the few of those that do land in populated areas inflict casualties. The system was so successful and reliable that it was found safe to fire one missile, instead of two, at each incoming rocket. In addition, during the eight day campaign last November, the Iron Dome software was updated almost daily as users reported any problems which were collected and fixed quickly and a new version of the software created, tested, and issued. 

There’s nothing special about the rest of the Iron Dome system. The Tamir missiles each weigh 90 kg (200 pounds), are three meters (9.8 feet) long, and 160mm in diameter. They have the usual components of a guided missile (rocket motor, electronics, and mechanical devices to actuate the fins and batteries). Without the predictive software Iron Dome would quickly run out of missiles and be much more expensive to operate as well. 

The first real rocket threat for Iron Dome was from a terrorist organization (Hamas) operating out of an area (Gaza) that is basically home for Palestinian refugees who have been there for over 60 years and want nothing less than the destruction of Israel. 

A similar organization (Hezbollah) controls southern Lebanon and is also dedicated to the destruction of Israel, using 40,000 unguided rockets they received from Iran. Hezbollah last attacked with rockets in 2006. 

Israel is organizing a force of 13 Iron Dome batteries to defeat Hezbollah and Hamas rocket attacks. Israel keeps moving these batteries around, making them less of a target for missiles or terrorists. Each of the five existing Iron Dome batteries has radar and control equipment and three or four missile launchers (each containing twenty missiles). Two more batteries are on order. Each battery costs about $40 million, which includes up to a hundred Tamir missiles (costing $90,000 each). The U.S. contributed nearly $300 million for development of Iron Dome.

Iraian Crap - Iranian general claims missiles can pass Iron Dome

Deputy chief of Iranian armed forces warns Israeli strike could lead to the Jewish state's annihilation, Fars reports.

 

Iranian missiles can penetrate the Iron Dome rocket-defense system, Brig.-Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of the Iranian armed forces said Thursday, according to Iranian news agency Fars.

"There is no iron dome in the world that we cannot pierce through," Fars quoted him as saying. "What is said about this dome (the Iron Dome) is mostly psychological warfare and propaganda."

He also labelled Israeli threats to strike Iran's nuclear facilities as psychological warfare, contending that the IDF lacks the military capability to attack the Islamic Republic.

Jazayeri further accused Israel of having "serious vulnerabilities," and warned that an Israeli decision to strike Iran could lead to the Jewish state's annihilation.

Last month, Fars quoted an Iranian military official as saying that the incursion by an unmanned aircraft into Israeli airspace exposed the weakness of Israeli air defenses.

The Israeli air force shot down a drone after it crossed into southern Israel, the military said, but it remained unclear where the aircraft had come from.

Jamaluddin Aberoumand, deputy coordinator for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said the incident indicated that Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile defense system "does not work and lacks the necessary capacity", Fars news agency reported.

The Iron Dome system, jointly funded with the United States, is designed to shoot down short-range guerrilla rockets, not slow-flying aircraft. It intercepted more than 80 percent of the targets it engaged in March when nearly 300 rockets and mortars were fired at southern Israel, the Pentagon said at the time.

South Korea eyes Iron Dome defense system

Seoul hopes IDF's new perennial plan will facilitate deal, as country seeks defense vis-à-vis North Korean threat

South Korea is hoping to become Israel's first overseas client for the Iron Dome missile defense system, IsraelDefense has learned.

Seoul is said to be exploring the system's ability to meet the threat posed by Pyongyang's shells, as well possibly deploying such batteries near sensitive facilities in the South Korean capital.

The deal depends on the possible adaptation of the system to the threat North Korean poses for its southern neighbor, and its Israeli procurement plans. 

As previously reported by IsraelDefense, Seoul has offered the Defense Ministry to acquire new ships manufactured by Hyundai Heavy Industries for the INF; and even had several shipyard delegates visit Israel and present an official proposal. The budgets for the project have yet to be approves, but negotiations are ongoing.

South Korea hopes that the IDF's new perennial plan will facilitate the negotiations further. Seoul's lose in a bid to provide the IAF with advance training aircrafts was a bitter disappointment for South Korea, but that has not affected the naval negotiations.

Iran's growing Mediterranean activity mandates the Israel Navy to acquire new battleships.

Until several months ago, it seemed that the Haifa shipyard was a leading candidate for the manufacturing of advance missile ships. The INF needs ships that are bigger that the Sa'ar 5 corvettes, and that need is becoming more urgent in light of Iran's naval activity.

The government has yet to approve such acquisition. At first, Israel looked at the possibility of purchasing LCS class vessels, but the littoral combat ships' price skyrockets. The next option – to have Germany build the ships – was also nixed after Berlin refused to partially fund the project, as it did with the INF's submarines.  

At this point, the Haifa shipyard offered to offer hundreds of jobs, as well as invest in advanced facilities that would allow it to build Sa'ar 5 class ships.

The idea of having Israeli shipyards build advanced naval vessels is based on projections that peg global demand for similar vessels at 100 over the next 10 years.

This poses a significant market opportunity and experts said that if 10 orders would be able to cover the investments needed in building the infrastructure needed for the manufacturing process. The Defense Ministry has also asked the Treasury to approve financial aid for the Israeli shipyards, in order to enable them to manufacture mid-size battleships.

Despite the matter being stuck, South Korean delegates still arrived in Israel to offer the Navy their ships. Seoul understands that the INF is interested in its ships only so they could mount its own radar and missile systems on it, as well as make other improvements.

Iron Dome Defenses Increasing by 2013

Two more Iron Dome anti-missile defense systems are to be delivered to Israel by early next year, IDF sources said.

Two more Iron Dome anti-missile defense systems are to be delivered to Israel by early next year.

In addition, U.S. President Barack Obama signed a bill over the weekend that expanded America's defense cooperation with Israel. The bill included a $70 million allocation for the Iron Dome that was approved by the Congress two months ago.

The Iron Dome system is equipped with a battery of three launchers and uses Tamir interceptor missiles to intercept and destroy rockets at ranges of 4 to 70 kilometers.

Both of the systems to be delivered in early 2013 come equipped with a new radar system that spans a wider geographic area, and new, upgraded software.

Thus far, each is to be classified as a reserve unit and will be operated by reservists who have already served their tour of duty, said the IDF source; however, both are on standby for “emergency” situations.

The country already has four such batteries installed in major population centers in the southern region – Ashdod, Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva and most recently, Eilat.

All were installed to intercept rocket attacks fired by Palestinian Authority terrorists from Gaza, mostly members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror organizations. The Eilat battery was placed in anticipation of an upswing in attacks following an increase in terror activity in the Sinai Peninsula.

Gaza militants fire four rockets into southern Israel, none wounded

Four rockets fired by Gaza militants landed Saturday afternoon near the southern Israeli city of Sderot. No injuries or damage were reported.

Gaza militants had fired four Qassam rockets at southern Israel, two of which exploded in open areas near the southern Israeli city of Sderot. The other two exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council. A 28-year-old woman injured her ankle while seeking shelter following the sound of the alarm and was evacuated to Barzilay Medical Center in Ashkelon.

On Friday night two Qassam rockets were fired at Eshkol regional council. No injuries or damage were reported.

On Tuesday, more than 20 rockets were fired at the southern cities of Sderot and Ashkelon, with a factory worker moderately wounded.

On Tuesday, an Iron Dome Anti-rocket battery intercepted some of the rockets fired at Ashkelon.

Earlier this month, Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniyeh said he was confident Egypt's new president would shield the Palestinian enclave from Israeli attack and fully open its borders to end a trade blockade.

However, In a meeting held in the past week between Morsi and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, the Egyptian president agreed to expand the activity of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, however refused to allow the transfer of commodities

Iron Dome Battery Placed in Eilat

An Iron Dome anti-missile battery was placed in the city of Eilat this week, less than a month after the remains of a Grad rocket were located in the southern Arava, not far from the city.

The IDF said that placing the battery in Eilat is an exercise which is part of a program testing the Iron Dome’s integration capabilities.

“The system is placed from time to time at various places throughout the country and on Monday it was placed in Eilat for a few days,” said the IDF, noting that placing the battery near the southern border was part of operational preparations and is not because of concrete alerts.

The highly acclaimed Iron Dome technology was a reaction to the thousands of missiles that have rained down on Israeli citizens from Hamas-controlled Gaza.

The system has proven very effective and was successful in intercepting 90 percent of missile attacks on urban centers. In May, the United States gave Israel $70 million for additional Iron Dome batteries.

The IAF's Aerial Defense Formation recently said it is already working on additional developments and improvements to Iron Dome. The next stage of the Iron Dome will include advances in interception capabilities, and will respond to a wider range of threats.