A missile is fired from Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system in the southern city of Ashdod, Israel, Nov. 12, 2019.
International attempts at diplomacy to end the week-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict appear to have made little progress. On Monday (17), the Israeli military launched another round of heavy airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, while reports and video and photos from the eastern Mediterranean showed that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is rapidly expanding into the sea.
With the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) enjoying a significant advantage in the maritime domain, Israeli naval vessels are now targeting Gaza using precision-guided missiles fired from the sea.
At least one public video shows the Spike anti-tank missile, a precision attack weapon also available in naval form, developed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.
The Spike-NLOS has a range of nearly 20 miles and can be used in “fire-and-forget” mode or with human-computer interaction, according to promotional materials. guidance. In the latter mode, the missile can be fired at a specific area and then manually guided to the target by the operator. The operator can see the missile through an infrared camera at the tip of the missile. In this way, a “long spike” can also be used to reconnoiter a target before it is struck, which is extremely accurate. (A video shows many of the features of the Long Spike. Please click to view.)
In addition, the Israeli Navy may also use the Harop suicide drone developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to attack Gaza. Like the Long Spike, the Harop has been modified for naval use.
Israeli reports indicate that the Israeli Navy conducted approximately 100 attacks on Hamas targets in the first six days of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli Navy Commander Rear Admiral Eli Sharvit told the media, “We have attacked bases, ships, weapons depots, infrastructure and operatives. Our operations are aimed at suppressing the naval weapons of Palestinian Islamic extremist groups and Hamas.”
In addition to offensive operations launched against targets in Gaza, the Israeli Navy is also actively defending the Tamar offshore gas field. The gas field is located about 50 miles west of the port of Haifa in northern Israel, well within Israel’s exclusive economic zone, and the area has also borne the brunt of massive rocket attacks.
Hamas has reportedly fired dozens of rockets at the Tamar gas rig, though so far there is no evidence that Hamas has been successful. At least one Barak 1 shipboard point defense missile system has been deployed alongside one of the rigs. “The Barak-1 is primarily used to defend against aircraft, anti-ship missiles and drones.
Other potential weapons for attacking oil platforms include Hamas-developed “autonomous submarines,” many of which the IDF says it has destroyed, and possibly even unobtrusive or semi-submersible unmanned surface vessels that can reportedly carry bombs weighing up to 66 pounds of bombs.
An official IDF video shows the destruction of an unmanned submersible device that may have been an “autonomous submarine” (click to view).
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict shows no sign of abating, with Israel saying it will continue to attack Hamas, the extremist group that rules Gaza, while the United States says it will not pressure either side.
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