IDF to employ new gadgets in Gaza
Aug. 10, 2009
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
The Shahar command-and-control eyepiece enables commanders to close in on targets quickly thanks to a map visible through the device.
A hand-held thermal imager and target acquisition system, a tube-like eyepiece command-and-control display and a GPS locater that does not require satellite hookup are some of the latest gadgets the IDF Ground Forces Command (GFC) plans to declare operational in the coming weeks.
Called "Amit," the targeting system - developed by Elbit Systems - weighs less than 2 kilograms, including the eight-hour rechargeable battery.
The hand-held system enables the operator to locate targets up to a kilometer away, under all weather conditions - clouds, rain and moonless.
Until now, the IDF used heavier systems that needed to be mounted on a tripod. The new system costs less than a third of those and is more mobile. It will soon be distributed to all infantry platoon and company commanders in the IDF.
"This is an ideal system for urban warfare," explained a senior officer in the GFC. "The Amit enables commanders to hone in on targets and pinpoint their exact location. This will enable more accurate targeting in an urban setting."
The new systems are being inserted into IDF infantry brigades in line with the lessons learned from Operation Cast Lead, which the military launched in late December against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The development and integration of the systems is overseen by Brig.-Gen. Shahar Kadishai, head of the GFC's Technology and Logistics Department.
The IDF tested the Amit's thermal-imaging capabilities during Cast Lead, distributing flags coated in a special chemical, detectable only by the Amit, among units in hopes of avoiding friendly-fire incidents.
Another system expected to be integrated in the coming weeks is the "Shahar" - an eyepiece that hooks onto a commander's vest and connects to a command-and-control computer carried in a small backpack.
The eyepiece, which will be distributed to battalion and company commanders starting this month, shows the officers a map of the battlefield, including the location of friendly and enemy forces.
The system enables commanders to quickly close in on targets. If an unmanned aerial vehicle or tank locates an enemy target, it can punch in the coordinates, which will appear on map that the infantry commander sees through the eyepiece.
Also under development by the Technology and Logistics Department is a GPS device called "Clover," which does not require a continuous connection with satellites.
The GPS, which will be carried by soldiers for navigating, will link up with a satellite before entering the battle zone and then again once every couple of hours.
This will also protect the unit operating the GPS, since the enemy would have fewer opportunities to crack the system via the satellite and uncover the troops' location. 
"Our assumption is that we will not have satellite linkup like we would prefer to have during a large-scale conflict," the senior GFC officer said. "The new GPS will be able to navigate based on the distance it travels and the point of origin, without needing to connect to a satellite."
Finally, the GFC has also begun testing a new trailer that can be connected to Merkava tanks and used to carry supplies - including ammunition, food, water and gasoline - into the field.
The trailer was designed by Urdan Associated Steel Foundries and has tires with 360-degree maneuverability.
"This aims to solve one of the problems discovered during the Second Lebanon War, when units didn't have food and water," the officer said. "This trailer will be able to carry supplies for an entire company of tanks and travel attached to a tank deep into enemy territory."
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Shin Bet: Gaza-belt communities are in danger
Aug. 11, 2009
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
IDF vehicles on the border with the Gaza Strip
Residents of towns along the Gaza border have been instructed to remain vigilant in case Hamas tries to infiltrate the communities to carry out terrorist and kidnapping attacks.
According to defense officials, the tension along the border is at one of its highest levels since Operation Cast Lead ended on January 18.
The warnings collected by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) focus mainly on terrorist threats along the security fence, as well as infiltrations into Gaza-belt communities.
While Hamas has ceased its rocket attacks and is trying to curb other factions and prevent them from firing into Israel, the group is still planning larger-scale attacks along the border, officials said.
In June, a major terrorist attack that included 10 gunmen and explosives-laden horses was thwarted by the IDF near the Karni crossing. The attack was carried out by a group affiliated with al-Qaida.
On Monday, a mortar shell struck near a group of IDF engineers working on the security fence. The day before, two mortar shells and a Kassam rocket were fired into Israel. The shells hit near the Erez crossing, meters away from ambulances that were transferring a Palestinian heart patient to Israel for treatment.
In response to Sunday's attack, the IAF bombed a smuggling tunnel under the Egyptian-Gaza border. The army said the air strike was in response to a Kassam rocket that hit an open field near the Sdot Negev region earlier that day.
According to a senior officer in the IDF Southern Command, troops deployed along the Gaza border have also been facing an increased spate of sniper attacks.
In addition, there has been an increase in the number of bombs planted along the security fence.
Besides to the threat of infiltration by tunnel or over the fence, there is also growing concern in the army that terrorists will try to enter Israel by sea, either by swimming or in rubber boats.
The Palestinians' use of snipers poses an operational challenge for the IDF, the senior officer said, since the gunmen fire at the troops from more than half a kilometer away.
"They fire from 500 to 600 meters away," the officer said. "This makes it difficult to then locate the sniper and find an available platform to hit him with." 
Mortar shell
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Bibi: Gaza Attacks Will be Answered
Av 20, 5769, 10 August 09 05:39
by Maayana Miskin Mortar shell Israel (Israelnationalnews.com) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned Monday that Israel would not accept rocket attacks from Gaza, “not even a trickle.” The military will respond quickly to each and every attack, he said.
"We will not put up with rocket fire on our towns,” Netanyahu told former Jewish residents of Gaza in a visit to the town of Shomriya. “It's not natural.”
Israel will not put up with any rocket fire, he added, “Not a drizzle, not a trickle, not a single attack.” Attacks from Gaza have slowed dramatically since the three-week counterterror offensive Cast Lead in late December and early January, but towns in southern Israel still suffer from sporadic assaults.
A short time after Netanyahu's speech in Shomriya, Gaza terrorists fired a mortar shell at workers near the Gaza security fence at Kissufim. The shell landed within Gaza, and no injuries or damage were reported.
On Sunday Gaza terrorists fired a rocket at a Negev kibbutz, and targeted an ambulance convoy bringing Gaza Arabs to Israeli hospitals for treatment with two mortar shells. The IDF responded on Sunday night, blowing up a smuggling tunnel along the Gaza-Egypt border.
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