Israel

Gantz Urges Border Defense Upgrade After Hizbullah Hit

Sunday, February 1, 2015 8:08 pm | < 1 Minute Read

Chief of Staff Benny Gantz visiting the scene where IDF vehicles were hit directly by an Hizbullah anti-tank missile. (IDF Spokesperson)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz warned on Sunday that last week’s cross-border missile attack by Hizbullah means Israel will have to upgrade defenses on its borders.

The ambush from a mile and a half away with a sophisticated Kornet missile showed a lethal capability previously unavailable to the terrorist militia which puts Israel’s border communities in danger.

Gantz explained that formerly the IDF could anticipate threats by observing movement on the border above ground, but that the new long-range weapons and terror tunnels have changed that.

Gantz, who will step down this month, made the comments at a conference in memory of former IDF chief Amnon Lipkin Shahak at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.

The outgoing chief said that the threats posed by regional change should not be underestimated. Groups such as Hizbullah and ISIS have become so technically advanced that they can no longer be described as terror organizations but as semi-armies.

Gantz called on the civilian leadership to provide the IDF with the funding it needs to protect Israel’s vulnerable border communities.

This article appeared in print on page 7 of the February 2nd, 2015 edition of Hamodia.