Rocket threat against Israel more serious than ever Before
Next war capable of seeing 400 to 600 rockets launched Daily
Tehran has some missiles able to reach Israel in 10-12 Minutes
The IDF
Is Getting Ready for an Eventual Major Middle East War!
January 3, 2010
http://www/tribulationperiod.com/
Begin Excerpt 1 from THE JERUSALEM POSt
‘Hizbullah can fire 400-600 rockets a day in next war’
By YAAKOV KATZ AND LAHAV HARKOV
01/03/0211 03:40
Mossad official’s estimate from leaked cable predicts Tel Aviv will be hit; Iran has 300 long-range missiles, IDF chief says.
Hizbullah would likely shoot between 400 and 600 missiles a day in to Israel during a future war, a senior Mossad official
told a congressional delegation to Israel in 2009, according to a US diplomatic cable published on Sunday.
The cable from November 2009 summed up meetings a delegation led by Ike Skelton (D-Missouri) held with top officials from the Mossad, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the IDF. It was first published on Sunday by Norway’s Aftenposten newspaper, which received it from WikiLeaks.
According to the Mossad official, 100 of the missiles will hit Tel Aviv.
Hizbullah, the delegation was told, has 40,000 missiles as well as a number of Iranian-made Ababil unmanned aerial vehicles that have a range of 150 km. and can be loaded with explosives and sent to bomb strategic targets in Israel.
Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi told the delegation that due to the military buildup in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, he was preparing the IDF for a “major war” since it would then be easier to scale down for smaller conflicts if needed.
As a result of the growing rocket threat, Ashkenazi told the congressmen that the IDF was investing heavily in missile defense systems, such as the Arrow, David’ s Sling and Iron Dome.
While the Iranian threat was grave, Ashkenazi told the Americans that the threat from Hamas and Hizbullah, which were funded by Iran, was most acute since due to their proximity to Israel, their rockets would be more accurate.
Turning to Iran, Ashkenazi said that Israel would have 10 to 12 minutes to prepare after its radar systems detected an Iranian missile fired toward the country.
He said that Teheran had more than 300 missiles capable of reaching Israel.
Ashkenazi also gave some rare insight into how Israel gathers intelligence on Hizbullah and locates targets in Lebanon.
Israel frequently sends drones over Lebanon to identify potential targets, he said, calling their use a “success.”
In addition, he revealed that the IDF closely cooperates with the US National Security Agency, which gathers signal intelligence such as communications.
Begin Excerpt 2 from Haaretz
WikiLeaks quotes IDF chief: Iran could hit Israel within 12 minutes
Gabi Ashkenazi told U.S. officials in 2009 that Israel was preparing for war against Hamas, Hezbollah and that rocket threat against Israel is ‘more serious than ever.’
By Haaretz Service
January 2, 2011 at 18:58
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi reportedly said in 2009 that Israel would have only between 10 and 12 minutes of warning in the event of an Iranian missile attack, AFP on Sunday quoted leaked U.S. cables as saying.
According to the cable authored by the American embassy in Tel Aviv, Lieutenant General Ashkenazi told the American delegation led by Missourian Congressman Ike Skelton that Iran possesses some 300 Shihab rockets that are capable of reaching Israel within minutes, leaving Israel
with very little time to mount an effective defense.
Despite the danger that Iran poses to Israel, the cable states that Ashkenazi was more worried about the military capabilities of fighting forces closer to home, specifically Hamas, which controls Gaza, on Israel’s western border, and Hezbollah, which maintains a strong military presence in southern Lebanon, on Israel’s northern border.
According to the French news agency AFP, Ashkenazi’s statements were published in an article in the Norwegian-language newspaper Aftenposten, which has access to all of the U.S. embassy cables released by WikiLeaks.
Ashkenazi is supposed to have also told the American delegation on November 15, 2009 that Israel was preparing for a large-scale war with Hamas or Hezbollah.
“I am preparing the Israeli army for a large scale war, since it is easier to scale down to a smaller operation than to do the opposite,” Ashkenazi said. “The rocket threat against Israel is more serious than ever. That is why Israel is putting such emphasis on rocket defense.”
Ashkenazi said that he believes Hezbollah to possess 40,000 rockets, while U.S. officials put the number at closer to 50,000 rockets. “Hamas will have the possibility to bombard Tel Aviv, with Israel’s highest population concentration,” Ashkenazi reportedly said.
Although approximately 1400 Palestinians, many of them civilians, were killed during Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s incursion into the Gaza Strip in December 2008, Ashkenazi vowed that the next round of fighting in Gaza would entail an even greater cost in human life, saying that Israel would not again accept “any restrictions on warfare in populated areas.”
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