Browsing: Israel News

When a residential building takes a direct missile hit, the result is total chaos: shattered concrete, severe trauma and uncertainty over who may still be trapped inside. For analysts in the Home Front Command’s Information Collection and Analysis Branch, however, that chaos becomes a source of operational data. As Israel once again faces heightened tensions and prepares for the possibility of another campaign against Iran, attention is turning to the readiness of the civilian home front. Any renewed conflict is expected to test national resilience through heavy missile barrages, large-scale launches and advanced threats requiring an immediate technological and operational…

A few years ago, Lee Ross was about to sit down with his family for a Shavuot holiday meal when an emergency call came in. Within moments, he was pulling on his protective gear, leaving the dinner table and heading for the door. His family knew the routine. When the radio crackled and Ross began getting dressed, they opened the front door and called the elevator so he would lose as little time as possible. “Sometimes it means leaving your family in the middle of a holiday meal,” Ross said. “It’s difficult for the family, of course, but it gets…

When India and Pakistan went to war in the Himalayas in the summer of 1999, Israel had only recently established full diplomatic relations with New Delhi and the two countries’ defense relationship was still in its infancy. Now, more than a quarter-century later, two Israelis who helped integrate advanced targeting systems onto Indian fighter jets are revealing new details about the emergency effort they say helped transform India’s air campaign during the Kargil War—and cemented what has since become one of Israel’s closest strategic partnerships. Speaking to India’s NDTV on Monday, former Rafael program manager Ami and retired Israeli Air…

Six Israeli travelers fought off a violent, apparently antisemitic assault in northern Mongolia, driving away a group of attackers who came at them with knives and hatchets. The confrontation unfolded on the evening of Monday, July 13, at a remote campsite where the three men and three women had stopped for the night. As a group of men of Kazakh Muslim origin approached, the Israelis sensed danger, put on closed shoes, and braced for a fight. The assailants began striking at them while shouting “Heil Hitler” and “Get out of here,” but the travelers refused to be victims. One repelled…

A sweeping development plan for Sheba Medical Center cleared a major planning hurdle Monday, advancing a project that would nearly double the number of hospital beds at Israel’s largest medical center and transform the enclosed campus into an open urban district connected to parks, a metro station and light rail. The National Infrastructure Planning Committee agreed to move the plan forward for public review, marking a significant step for one of the most ambitious health infrastructure projects proposed in Israel. Under the plan, Sheba’s projected capacity would rise from 1,860 beds to 3,303 by 2045. The expansion would also significantly…

Unable to afford or wait for enough new warships, the Israeli Navy is spending about 250 million shekels ($73 million) to rebuild a 35-year-old missile ship that might otherwise have been retired. The overhaul of INS Lahav reflects the pressure on the Navy to expand its air-defense capabilities quickly as threats to Israel’s offshore energy infrastructure and maritime routes continue to grow. INS Lahav is one of three Sa’ar 5-class missile ships built in the United States and delivered to Israel roughly 35 years ago. Nearly two years ago, while its sister ships INS Hanit and INS Eilat were carrying…

Deep in the darkness somewhere in southern Lebanon, a reserve female officer and doctor walks carefully through the terrain. On her back, she carries medical equipment weighing dozens of kilograms. In her hand, she holds a dark walking stick, using it to find her way and avoid stumbling. Around her there is maximum alertness and a silence that could explode at any moment. Capt. (res.) Dr. M. is an unusual figure, even in a war where the extraordinary has become routine. In civilian life, she is a senior physician at a major hospital in central Israel, an experienced and respected…

As IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warns of a severe manpower shortage in the military, a letter sent to his office and revealed for the first time claims there is a pool of more than 3,500 young people who were born in or grew up in Israel and want to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces but remain barred from recruitment because of administrative policy rather than any legal restriction. According to Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority, more than 3,500 young people ages 15 to 25 currently living in Israel hold only temporary residency status. According to…

Hamas terrorists on Saturday forcibly entered a World Food Programme (WFP) food distribution site in Jabaliya, forcing the suspension of distributions that had provided daily assistance to thousands of families. According to United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Humanitarian Coordinator Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, humanitarian workers were forced to halt food distributions after armed personnel affiliated with Hamas authorities forcibly entered the Abu Rashid food distribution point in Jabalyia, northern Gaza. “The forces also entered a WFP warehouse and reportedly assaulted two truck drivers who were delivering humanitarian supplies,” he said. Continue reading this article…

Israel has launched its fifth competitive process to search for more natural gas in the country’s economic waters, Energy Minister Eli Cohen said on Monday, seeking to bolster domestic reserves while increasing exports. Israel’s gas needs are served by a number of fields off its Mediterranean coast, mainly Tamar, while most exports — largely to Egypt and Jordan — come from the nearby Leviathan site 130 kilometers (81 miles) offshore. Both sites are part of the Eastern Mediterranean’s Levant Basin. The tender will comprise three phases and take about a year to complete, Cohen said. Chevron, which operates Tamar and…