Israel Matzav

IDF preparing for Cast Lead II

The IDF is preparing for a new operation in Gaza according to a report in YNet.

The IDF's Combat Engineering Corps held a drill testing its Caterpillar D9 bulldozers on Tuesday, indicating that while calm has been restored to Israel's southern communities, the army remains on alert.

"Terror groups' capabilities are greater than they were in the past, but we have learned our lesson and improved our capabilities as well," Captain Moshe Yakobovich, who commands the Gaza Northern Brigade's Mechanical Engineering Equipment Company, told Ynet.

This was the first exercise for the company, which became operational over a year ago. The troops used the heavy machinery to practice opening safe routes for infantry and armored infantry units and dealing with land mines, roadside bombs, antitank missiles and mortar shell barrages. The drill took place at the Tzeelim base.

The IDF is bracing for the possibility that the next operation in the Gaza Strip might meet a response more violent than what Operation Cast Lead had seen. To prepare for such a scenario, the bulldozers have been equipped with innovative protective equipment, including antitank missile alert systems.

"On a daily basis we deal with opening safe routes, clearing territories and building defensive posts for our forces," Yakobovich said. "This time we practiced operating at nighttime... while staying in the field for a long period of time."

The exercise was planned a year in advance. I'm hoping that if Hamas attacks us in response to a strike on Iran, we flatten Gaza from the air rather than risking our ground troops.

Labels: bulldozer, Hamas, Operation Cast Lead

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:28 AM