Free Republic

Overnight (Thursday), the IDF conducted a wave of strikes targeting the Nukhba elite forces of the Hamas terrorist organization, by striking operational command centers used by operatives who infiltrated the communities surrounding Gaza last Saturday. The Nukhba elite forces consist of terrorists selected by senior Hamas operatives, designated to carry out terrorist attacks such as ambushes, raids, assaults, infiltration through terror tunnels, as well as anti-tank missile, rocket, and sniper fire. The Nukhba elite forces were one of the leading forces that infiltrated the State of Israel in order to carry out murderous acts of terror against its civilians. Furthermore,...

Almost six years after the Second Lebanon War, special Israeli units are preparing to take part in mass incursions into Lebanon if another round of fighting with Hezbollah breaks out. Just as important, they are being trained to heed the legal implications. Officers say the Israel Air Force would destroy targets like training bases and rocket-launching pads within a few days, based on the intelligence gathered by the Israel Defense Forces. But this would not be enough, so a ground offensive would be necessary. Published 00:51 08.04.12 Latest update 00:51 08.04.12 Special IDF units preparing for mass Lebanon incursion if...

Israel is increasingly concerned with the military build-up in Iraq amid intelligence reports that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is solidifying its presence in the country, according to a senior IDF officer. Of particular concern is the Pentagon’s approval in late 2011 of the sale of 36 F- 16 multi-role combat aircraft to Iraq. The planes will be built by Lockheed Martin in the US and are Block 52 F-16s, meaning that they are of the same configuration as Israel’s F-16Is, called Sufa (Storm). “We are carefully watching the developments in Iraq,” the IDF officer said. “The possible developments...

Israel has asked the United States for assistance estimated at $700 million in order to produce more Iron Dome and Magic Wand missile and rocket defense batteries, sources told Ynet on Wednesday. The Iron Dome is designed to intercept rockets fired from a relatively short range, while the Magic Wand intercepts missiles fired from a range of at least 70km, including cruise missiles and missiles with ballistic warheads such as the Squd, Shihab and Sejil. According to sources privy to the deal, Jerusalem and Washington are currently discussing the aid package, which if approved will allow Israel to equip its...

Israel Defense Forces officials told cabinet ministers on Monday that should Israel undergo a coordinated missile attack, there would be less than 300 Israeli casualties. The number was mentioned by IDF officials during a discussion in Israel's security-diplomatic cabinet, Channel 10 reported on Monday, and is far lower than the number mentioned previously by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who reportedly said that a maximum of 500 Israelis would die in such an attack. During the meeting, a senior official in the Israel Air Force told the cabinet ministers that in the event of a coordinated missile attack on Israel's home...

In 2009, the deputy chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Baku, Donald Lu, sent a cable to the State Department's headquarters in Foggy Bottom titled "Azerbaijan's discreet symbiosis with Israel." The memo, later released by WikiLeaks, quotes Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev as describing his country's relationship with the Jewish state as an iceberg: "nine-tenths of it is below the surface." Why does it matter? Because Azerbaijan is strategically located on Iran's northern border and, according to several high-level sources I've spoken with inside the U.S. government, Obama administration officials now believe that the "submerged" aspect of the Israeli-Azerbaijani...

Several published reports indicate that top Israeli decision-makers now are seriously considering whether to order a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and if so, when. Twice in Israel’s history, it has conducted air strikes aimed at halting or delaying what Israeli policymakers believed to be efforts to acquire nuclear weapons by a Middle Eastern state—destroying Iraq’s Osirak reactor in 1981 and a facility the Israelis identified as a reactor under construction in Syria in 2007. Today, Israeli officials generally view the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran as an unacceptable threat to Israeli security—with some viewing it as an existential...

Key leaders of the U.S. Congress want U.S. President Barack Obama to provide funds to help Israel, should it request it, to produce more batteries of the Iron Dome counter-rocket system. Israel's air force has three batteries deployed to protect cities in the southern Negev Desert against rockets fired by Palestinian militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip but budget problems mean it can't fund more batteries needed to shield the rest of the country. Iron Dome, which racked up a 90 percent kill rate against Palestinian Qassam and Grad rockets in recent weeks, was developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems...

The Israel Air Force’s Iron Dome rocket-defense system intercepted 27 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip over the weekend, raising the interception rate from 75 percent last year to over 90%. Israel currently has three Iron Dome batteries in operation – in Ashkelon, Ashdod and Beersheba – and plans to deploy the fourth in the coming months. Its plan is to deploy a total of nine batteries by mid-2013. The battery in Ashdod intercepted 11 rockets out of 13 fired into the city; the battery in Ashkelon intercepted one rocket and purposely did not intercept four others since they were...

The joint U.S.-Israel Arrow Weapon System successfully intercepted a ballistic target missile during a flight test conducted today. This test is part of the Arrow System Improvement Program (ASIP) and was conducted jointly by the Israel Missile Defense Organization and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency at the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division-Pt. Mugu Sea Range. At 10:30 p.m. local time (Pacific Standard Time), the target missile was launched from a Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) off the coast of California, within the Pt. Mugu test range. The target was representative of potential ballistic missile threats facing Israel. The Arrow...

Israel has developed a new 500 pound (227 kg) penetrator bomb, the MPR-500. The MPR-500 can smash through more than a meter (39 inches) of concrete, or four 200mm (8 inch) concrete barriers (floors or bunker walls) and then detonate. When the MPR-500 explodes, it releases 26,000 fragments, which will wound or kill out to 100 meters. While the MPR-500 is an unguided bomb, it is most useful when mated with a guidance kit to become a smart bomb. The most common such kit is the American JDAM, which converts 500, 1,000 (455 kg) and 2,000 (910 kg) pound unguided...

The IDF is planning to deploy an Iron Dome battery in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area for the first time as part of a drill simulating a missile attack, Ynet learned Sunday. The Iron Dome system aims to provide protection from medium-range rockets used by Hamas and Hezbollah and is part of Israel's multi-layered defense layout which also includes the Arrow 2 and Magic Wand systems. Residents of Central Israel will be able to get a closer look at the Iron Dome battery which has been found to be effective in intercepting rockets fired at southern communities. The aim is...

Under shadow of rockets and mortars, young women soldiers direct IDF warships to destroy enemy targets in Lebanon. Girls know it's scary, but important Hagai Einav In recent days, Israel's Navy has intensified its operations to eliminate the threat of rocket attacks on Nahariya, Haifa and the Krayot area. On Sunday, a Ynet crew had the unique opportunity to visit the naval operations room, where young women soldiers direct INF missile boats in their mission to destroy terrorist rocket launchers. A group of female soldiers, who constitute 80 percent of the personnel in the outpost, have been laboring around the...

Does anyone know of a credible site where I could find out about training in the IDF? It will be much appreciated.