Tag Archive for IDF

| April 6, 2012
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IDF Imposes Closure on PA-Controlled Areas

As it goes on high alert for Passover, the IDF imposes a closure on the PA-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria.

The IDF Spokesman announced on Thursday that, following a decision by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a general closure will be imposed on the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria.

IDF combs fields near Nir Am

IDF combs fields near Nir Am - Reuters

The closure began at 11:59 p.m. (Israel time) on Thursday and will end after the Passover holiday, on Saturday evening at 11:59 p.m., depending on the security situation at the time.

According to the IDF announcement, during the closure movement into Israeli territory will be allowed only for humanitarian reasons, medical reasons and other exceptions, all subject to the approval of the Civil Administration. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| April 4, 2012
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IDF Shoots, Kills Terrorist Near Gaza Border

An IDF force shoots and hits a terrorist who was crawling towards Israel’s border with Gaza.

An IDF force shot and killed a terrorist near the security fence in northern Gaza on Tuesday night.

The force, which was conducting routine activity along the border fence, identified a suspicious man crawling toward the border. The force fired a tank shell at the terrorist and the IDF Spokesman said, according to a report on the Ma’ariv newspaper’s website, that the suspect was hit.

Over the past week, terrorists have tried to carry out several attacks. The IDF has foiled them.

On Saturday, an IDF unit identified a terrorist near the central section of the security fence separating Gaza from Israel. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| April 1, 2012
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Israel, Greece conduct joint naval drill amid ongoing tension with Turkey

U.S. Sixth Fleet also participating in the exercise, which includes simulation of attack on offshore natural gas platforms.

Israel, the United States and Greece are in the midst of a naval exercise in the Mediterranean Sea, in what Greek media outlets are saying is a message to Turkey following frayed ties with both Israel and Greece.

IAF exercise - Greek air force - 1.4.12 - Photo by: Greek air force

IAF exercise - Greek air force - 1.4.12 - Photo by: Greek air force

The exercise, called “Noble Dina,” involves simulations of combat against submarines, air battles and protection of offshore natural gas platforms. The U.S. Sixth Fleet is also participating in the exercise, which the Greek media, which first reported on it, has described as being meant to send a message to Turkey. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 31, 2012
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Video: Land Day Riot in Bethlehem

Soldiers in a watchtower in Bethlehem caught Arab rioters hurling stones and firebombs at their position on video.

Land Day turned violent Friday when Arabs began hurling Molotov cocktails and stones at soldiers near the Kalandia checkpoint north of Jerusalem, and Bethlehem to the south.

A video taken by IDF soldiers in a watchtower in Bethlehem showed rioters massing at the security fence and hurling stones and firebombs at their position.

The soldiers inside can be heard reporting a “balagan” – great chaos or confusion – to their commanders and calling for reinforcements via radio while taking video with their personal smart phones. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| March 27, 2012
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Palestinian Authority Arab Stabs Soldier

A Ramallah area Arab stabbed and lightly wounded an IDF soldier Monday night during a counter-terrorist operation. The combat unit shot and wounded three terrorists.

 

The wounded soldier received first aid at the scene, east of the Palestinian Authority’s headquarters in Ramallah, adjacent to the Jewish community of Beit El and several miles north of Jerusalem.

The IDF was conducting a maneuver in a Ramallah area village when a gang attacked. It was not clear if the terrorists had planned an ambush or acted spontaneously during the IDF operation for arresting suspects. The wounded terrorists were treated at an Israeli hospital, under guard of security personnel. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| March 20, 2012
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IDF creating 2 new units in face of missile threat

Israel to finalize establishment of new search-and-rescue units by end of 2013 for rapid response in event of future war.

 

The IDF Home Front Command plans to finalize the establishment of two new search-and-rescue battalions by the end of next year to be able to provide a rapid response capability in the event of a future war.

Brig.-Gen. Zviki Tessler, deputy commander of the Home Front Command, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that the establishment of the new battalions would dramatically improve the IDF’s ability to assist the civilian population.

He also revealed that the soldiers in the search-and-rescue battalions would soon undergo training to become certified firefighters. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| March 19, 2012
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New Radars Cut Gaza Infiltrations by 70-80%

Radars scan an entire section of the border, tracking multiple targets simultaneously without rotating.

New radars in use on the border with Gaza have helped the IDF cut the rate of infiltrations by 70-80%, the IDF Website says.

The new radars, “Baron” and “Baroness”, employ a revolutionary new scanning technology. The IDF Website reports that they are equipped with a wide-view scanner, which makes it unnecessary for them to rotate like traditional radars, thus eliminating blind spots. The new radar can scan a section of the border and track multiple targets simultaneously, without leaving any area vulnerable.

IDF radar operators - Photo By IDF website

IDF radar operators - Photo By IDF website

The radar is also sensitive to objects moving at low speeds.

Continue Reading »
Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Israel News | Tags: ,
| March 17, 2012
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Soldier ‘bans’ Prime Minister from IDF’s Facebook page

Editor of army’s Facebook page deletes a comment left by one Benjamin Netanyahu for being too political, then brags on his personal Facebook page that he ‘banned Bibi.’

When then IDF Spokesman Avi Benayahu told the Herzliya Conference that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered his unit to train soldiers to be “new media warriors,” he probably never imagined that a year later one of those keyboard warriors would brazenly block the prime minister on Facebook.

Netanyahu has a number of Facebook pages: three official pages representing “The Prime Minister of Israel,” in Hebrew, English and Arabic, which are run by editors inside the Prime Minister’s Office, as well a political page run by Likud party spokespeople.

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| March 15, 2012
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Soldier Wounded in Light Rail Stabbing Attack

In the first major terror attack reported on Jerusalem’s light rail, a female soldier was stabbed by an Arab, who fled the scene

An Israeli female soldier in her early 20s was stabbed while riding on Jerusalem’s light rail Thursday morning. The stabber was an Arab who ran away from the scene of the stabbing, witnesses said. The stabbing occurred as the train was traveling through the Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood in northern Jerusalem. Service has been suspended on trains in the north of the city.

At the scene of Thursday's light rail attack

At the scene of Thursday's light rail attack - Photo by Hezki Ezra

Police have opened an investigation. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| March 14, 2012
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FIDF raises $26 million for Israel

The US-based Friends of the IDF organization (FIDF) held its annual fundraiser on Tuesday and raised $26 million – NIS 98 million – in favor of the Israeli military.

Over 1,300 prominent business and philanthropic leaders attended the $1,000-a-plate gala dinner, which was held at New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel.

Among those attending the gala were Israel’s Military Attaché in Washington Major-General Gadi Shamni, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) and FIDF National Director Maj-Gen (Res.) Jerry Gershon.

גלעד שליט מברך בכנס (צילום: שחר עזרן)

Gilad Shalit's video message - Photo: Shahar Azran

The evening was held under the banner of the “IDF’s Special Forces,” and included a special live satellite link allowing the donors to meet members of the military’s elite unit and tour their base. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags:
| March 13, 2012
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Rocket Fire a ‘Dramatic Development’

The IDF says the quantity and rate of fire from Gaza is unprecedented; notes terrorists are actively using civilians as human shields.

IDF officials say the 200 rockets fired at Israel’s southern communities since Friday marks a “dramatic development in terms of the quantity and rate of the fire.”

“In the first three days of the current round of fighting we’ve sustained a larger quantity of rockets than the quantity fired at Israel in the two previous rounds, in August and October, which were longer,” an army official said.

Hamas Kassam Launcher

Hamas Kassam Launcher Wikimedia Commons

More than 50 of the rockets fired in recent days were medium-range missiles, and most attacks were carried out by the Islamic Jihad, the army said. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , ,
| March 12, 2012
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This round will likely go to Israel

If there are fewer launches Monday, Israel will likely reduce its attacks, and this round of hostilities will wind down by midweek.

 

Fewer rockets were fired at Israel on Sunday, but the fact that Katyushas did nonetheless fall in Be’er Sheva spurred tough talk from Israel, which threatened to continue attacking the Gaza Strip.

Still, if there are fewer launches Monday, Israel will likely reduce its attacks, and this round of hostilities will wind down by midweek, much as last year’s periodic flare-ups did.

This optimistic assessment comes with two strong caveats: One, this is all true so long as there are no Israeli deaths; and two, the Islamic Jihad’s rising frustration at its inability to achieve much may lead it to take the extreme – almost suicidal – step of firing rockets at the Tel Aviv area.

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , ,
| March 10, 2012
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Palestinians fire 92 rockets at southern Israel

Iron Dome intercepts 25 rockets aimed at city centers; 8 injured, including 1 critically from rocket shrapnel on Friday night in rural region; Safety instructions in place for residents living within 40 km of Gaza.

Car damaged from Gaza rocket on March 10, 2012

Car damaged from Gaza rocket on March 10, 2012 - Photo By IDF Spokesman's Office

 

Palestinian terrorists in Gaza targeted cities, towns, and farming regions in southern Israel with waves of rockets throughout Friday and Saturday, setting off air raid sirens and injuring eight people

Ninety two rockets – Kassams and the longer-range Grads – were fired by midday Saturday at civilian regions. Of those, the Iron Dome anti-rocket system intercepted 25 projectiles heading directly into city centers in Ashdod, Beersheba and Ashkelon.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 10, 2012
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Gaza militants fire rockets at Israeli south; casualties, damage reported

More than 40 rockets fired into southern Israel; eight people wounded, one seriously; Iron Dome intercepts six rockets fired at Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Be’er Sheva; Israel launches Gaza strikes and kills three Islamic Jihad militants.

 

Rocket barrage from Gaza continues. Over 40 rockets were fired from Gaza to Israel’s southern cities and towns. Eight people were injured, some damage was reported.

Rockets had also fallen in Be’er Sheva, Ashdod, Kiryat Malachi, Netivot, and Ashkelon; these rockets either fell in open area or were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system, causing no damage, or casualties.

rocket Casualty - Eli Hershkovitz - 10092012
 Casualty from rocket barrage fired from Gaza being rushed to hospital.
Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 7, 2012
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WATCH: IDF prepares for tunnel warfare in future Lebanon, Gaza conflicts

IDF special forces train at new underground training facility; training based on lessons from Second Lebanon War and Operation Cast Lead.

The Israel Defense Forces introduced a new method of conducting underground warfare on Tuesday, in preparation for a war with either Hezbollah or Hamas.

Gaza smuggling tunnel - AP

Gaza smuggling tunnel - Photo by AP

The method, which has been developed since the Second Lebanon War and Operation Cast Lead, is meant to combat the underground tunnel systems used by Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which are often used for weapons transfers.

The IDF believes that in Lebanon, the Hezbollah has dozens of underground bases, from which the organization operates its rocket launching operations. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
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