Hezbollah Is The Most Advanced And Sophisticated Enemy For Us
A recent article by a commentator on security and military affairs at the Maariv newspaper, unveils the efforts of the ‘Israeli’ navy to develop its capabilities in line with the development of Hezbollah’s capabilities.
“In the past two decades, the navy has turned into a large weapon with a huge budget, which is the result of a change in the military and operational doctrine,” Officer Yossi Melman writes.
“These changes included marine units used for ongoing security tasks and the protection of hundreds of kilometers of maritime border, from Lebanon to Gaza, and away from the “‘Israeli’ coast” in the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea. With the help of submarines, the weapon [the navy] is also used as a strategic arm, and according to foreign reports, these submarines are capable of carrying nuclear warheads. In addition, it has intelligence missions and can take down Special Forces on enemy shores. The navy is preparing itself for a major or small war.”
He added that “naval threats against ‘Israel'” – and not just around the gas fields – are on the rise. “Hamas is building naval capacities and trying to improve them. During Operation Protective Edge, the group sent four divers who tried to infiltrate into ‘Israel’ and were discovered at the Zikim beach.” According Melman these forces demonstrated impressive abilities.
“We have learned even before Operation Protective Edge that they had such capabilities, and we began to develop a system to detect the divers,” Melman explains. “According to the assessment of the Navy’s intelligence, Hamas’s naval force is approximated in the tens of fighters whose skills have developed. Hamas has improved its capabilities thanks to training carried out by its members in Iran and by Hezbollah in Lebanon. The graduates of these training courses returned to the Gaza Strip and became trainers for new recruits.”
In his piece, the ‘Israeli’ commentator reveals that the entity’s assessment is that “Hamas and Hezbollah fighters are trying to use tools under the sea.” A military officer in the ‘Israeli’ army said that the tools used under the sea include a device that has a motor that would allow the diver to move very quickly and travel more distances. Melman adds that “this device enables Hamas elements to plan a naval attack on Eilat.”
As for the priorities of the ‘Israeli’ enemy and the Zionist army as a whole, the officer confirmed that the number one target is Hezbollah. “The reason for this is the party’s direct relationship with Iran. Hezbollah is the most advanced and sophisticated enemy for us,” he said.
The officer added that “it is possible to estimate that Hezbollah has special units for naval combat. It uses sophisticated commandos at sea, while it uses well-trained diving units equipped with advanced equipment under water. Thus, the ‘Israeli’ military is preparing for a scenario of infiltration by divers. But the main naval threat from Hezbollah is the Iranian-made naval missiles similar to the ones that hit the warship ship in the war on Lebanon in 2006.”
With respect to greatest threat for the ‘Israeli’ navy, the writer clarifies that “since the war on Lebanon in 2006, Hezbollah’s sea-to-sea missile units have grown, and the organization has dozens of Russian-made Yakhont missiles. The navy views these missiles as the biggest threat in case of a war. Accordingly, it adapts itself and develops a new combat doctrines in the face of missile threats.”
Melman concludes “the threat is developing on all fronts, and especially from Hezbollah, which has transferred its weapons to the land. In the navy, they are talking about Hezbollah’s naval superiority and threats from the coast to the sea. In principle, the Air Force remains responsible for striking coastal targets. But during the fighting, there is the factor of the time of implementation and prioritization. It is not certain that the navy will be in the top rank of the ‘Israeli’ military’s priorities in terms of aircraft allocation, and therefore we cannot be linked to the availability of other weapons, and we have to manage by ourselves.”
The Zionist commentator for the Maariv newspaper added, “At the moment, we have good ammunition to deal with sea-to-land threats, not just sea-to-sea threats.”
Source: Zionist Media
