Self-Inflicted Ignorance Is Suicide
The Freeman Center Is A Defense Against Ignorance
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typhoon cannon on the deck of the Shaldag ship lets off a burst of gunfire
toward the Gaza coast.
Ashdod and Ashkelon," explains Yoni, the commander of the naval vessel.
thermal camera to ensure no IDF troops were in the area. Suddenly, as the
camera zooms in on a hotel under construction on the Gaza coast, one of the
soldiers says, "Wait. There's someone there."
Palestinian dogs.
some 2.5 kilometers off the Gaza coast. It is the first time a reporter has
joined naval forces since the start of the operation.
naval vessel, Sa'ar 4.5, which is also part of operations against Hamas.
Hamas infrastructure has gone to the air force, which has conducted hundreds
of sorties over Gaza. However, the navy has also been operating since the
first day of the operation, and has hit some 200 Gaza targets with its
various weapons.
look at a wall lined with television screens showing the sea, the location
of Israeli forces and rocket launches from Gaza. On one screen in the
middle, the officers watch Al-Jazeera.
in order to prevent a terrorist infiltration into Israel," explains Maj.
Tzur.
weapons aren't weather restricted - the ships can hit a target even in
extremely cloudy conditions.
occasions, they have even managed to fire a shell through a window of a
building after armed Palestinians were spotted there.
"We have weapons with great precision, the ability to remain in the
battlefield for long periods and we have no problem with clouds."
the Strip, preventing weapons smuggling to Gaza via the Mediterranean and
thwarting terror attacks.
Gaza coast.
hunting Hamas terror cells and backing up ground operations.
senior officer. "Since then, we have attacked launchers, bunkers and have
backed up ground forces operating in the Strip, helping them open routes and
clear out suspicious regions and houses from which gunmen have opened fire."
between naval and ground forces, he said.
he explains.
according to the officer, Hamas naval forces have been dealt a severe blow.
The officer said that there had been attempts to fire at Israeli naval
ships, mostly with light arms and anti-tank missiles.
rocket launching cells. On Monday, 10 Hamas terror operatives were killed by
naval forces.
vessels, and the IDF suspects that they are trying to perpetrate a terror
attack similar to that carried out on the USS Cole in Yemen in October 2000,
when a small boat rammed into the vessel, blowing it up. There have also
been attempts to smuggle arms via the sea into the Strip.
said the officer. "There is now a naval blockade so anyone who is in the sea
is considered suspicious."
towns, some of its members live in the South. Felipe, who immigrated from
Argentina with his family 12 years ago, now lives in Beersheba, in the range
of Hamas's Grad rockets.
other hand I'm happy to be here defending my home because that's the reason
I joined the army."