The weapons that the Israel Defense Forces have to wipe Hamas off the map

@DefAviation ES 10·07·2023 · 20:22 0

Today the Hamas terrorists have launched a serious attack against Israel, especially directed against the unarmed civilian population.

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Hamas terrorist attacks have left dozens dead and hundreds injured in Israel. In addition, terrorists (and not "militias", as some media call them) have kidnapped dozens of Israeli citizens, including children, women and the elderly. This attack, which took place on the 50th anniversary of the start of the Yom Kippur War (an attack by several Arab nations that ended in a victory for Israel) is the most serious carried out by Hamas . For Israel, today's attacks are like its own 9/11.

No civilized state can tolerate a group of fanatical terrorists like Hamas, supported by Iran and by Russia, attack on its civilian population without a response. A response that should not be proportionate, but forceful. We are not facing a tennis match. Israel is a democratic country (the only democratic country in the Middle East) and must guarantee that the aggressor is no longer a threat, even if to do so it has to erase Hamas from the map.

This morning, the Israel Defense Forces have already begun their Operation Iron Swords, which he defined as "a large-scale operation to defend Israeli civilians against the combined attack launched against Israel by Hamas this morning". What weapons means does Israel have to respond to this terrorist attack? To review them, we are going to take as reference "The Military Balance 2023" by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Israeli Army

The Israeli Army has 26,000 professional soldiers and 100,000 conscripts (that is, soldiers who are doing mandatory military service). In addition, they have 400,000 reservists who have already been mobilized by the Israeli government. The Israeli Army has a special operations brigade, which has one of the best special operations units in the world, the Sayeret Matkal.

As for active units, it has 4 armored brigades, 1 multidimensional brigade (which includes infantry, aviation, engineering, anti-tank means, artillery, aviation and intelligence), strong>5 mechanized infantry brigades, 1 parachute brigade, 6 artillery brigades, 2 engineer brigades, 1 intelligence brigade and other smaller units.

In addition, the Israeli Army reserve has 9 armored brigades, 8 mechanized infantry brigades, 16 territorial infantry brigades, 4 parachute brigades, 1 mountain infantry brigade, 5 artillery brigades and other auxiliary units. .

Regarding material means, the Israeli Army has 400 Merkava MkIV tanks (one of the best armored vehicles in the world) in active use, in addition to another 200 Merkava MkIV and 700 Merkava MkIII in storage. As for armored personnel carriers, the Israeli Army has 290 Namer, 500 M-113A2, 400 Nagmachon and 5,100 Nakpadon, as well as 5,000 M-113A1 and A2 in storage, in addition to various support vehicles. It is a very large and very well trained armored force.

Regarding artillery, the Israeli Army has 250 M-109A5 155 mm self-propelled howitzers, in addition to 30 M-109A2, 36 M-107 175 mm and 36 203mm M-110 in storage. Towed artillery includes 171 155 mm guns of various types. In addition, Israel has 30 M-270 MLRS multiple rocket launchers, plus another 20 MLRS, 50 LAR-160 and 20 LAR-290 in storage. To the artillery pieces we must add 250 active 81 mm mortars, in addition to 1,100 81 mm mortars, 650 120 mm mortars and 18 160 mm mortars in storage).

Israeli Air Force

It is the great jewel of the Israel Defense Forces, due to its excellent capabilities and training. The Israeli Air Force has 34,000 active members and 55,000 reservists, to which must be added 3,000 soldiers and 15,000 reservists to protect air bases. Its structure is made up of 14 fighter and attack squadrons, 1 anti-submarine warfare squadron, 1 airborne early warning squadron, 3 transport and flight resupply squadrons, 3 training squadrons, 2 squadrons of AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, 5 squadrons of transport and medical evacuation helicopters and 5 squadrons of unmanned aircraft.

In addition, the Israeli Air Force is in charge of medium and long-range anti-aircraft defenses, made up of 3 battalions of Arrow systems, 10 battalions of Iron Dome, 4 battalions of M-901 Patriot PAC-2 missiles and 2 David's Sling missile battalions. Likewise, the Israeli Air Force has 3 Jericho 2 surface-to-surface missile squadrons.

In total, the Israeli Air Force has 345 aircraft, including 315 fighter aircraft (16 F-15A Eagle, 6 F-15B, 17 F-15C, 19 F-15D, 25 F-15I , 50 F-16C, 49 F-16D, 97 F-16I and 36 F-35I stealth fighters), 10 reconnaissance and intelligence collection aircraft (6 RC-12D Guardrail, 1 Gulfstream G-550 Oron and 3 Gulfstream G-550 Shavit), 2 early warning aircraft Gulfstream G-550 Eitam, 10 tanker aircraft (4 KC-130H and 6 KC-707), 65 transport aircraft(5 C-130E, 6 C-130H, 7 C-130J-30, 3 AT-802 Air Tractor, 9 Beechcraft 200 King Air, 8 Beechcraft 200T King Air, 5 Beechcraft 200CT King Air and 22 Beechcraft A-36 Bonanza) and 66 training aircraft (16 Grob G-120, 30 M-346 Master and 20 T-6A).

In addition, the Israeli Air Force has 142 helicopters, which are divided between 43 attack helicopters (26 AH-64A Apache and 17 AH-64D), 7 helicopters anti-submarine warfare AS-565SA Panther, 12 reconnaissance and observation helicopters Bell OH-58B Kiowa and 80 transport helicopters (25 CH-53D Sea Stallion, 39 S-70A Black Hawk, 10 UH-60A Black Hawk and 6 Bell 206 Jet Ranger).

Israeli Navy

The naval force is the smallest of the Israel Defense Forces: it has 7,000 professional sailors and 2,500 conscripts. It is a force destined mainly to defend the Israeli coastline, for which it has 5 submarines (3 of the Dolphin class and 2 of the Tanin class), 7 corvettes, 8 missile launch vessels and 34 patrol boats, 3 landing craft and 1 support ship. In addition, the Israeli Navy has a special operations unit made up of about 300 operators.

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Main photo: Israel Defense Forces. An F-35I stealth fighter of the Israeli Air Force.