IDF: Missile threat on bases not grave

Recent study says bases in Central and South regions won't need to be evacuated in event of war.

By YAAKOV KATZ
katyusha hizbullah 224.8 (photo credit: AP [file])
katyusha hizbullah 224.8
(photo credit: AP [file])
The ballistic missile threat to IDF bases in the Central region and South is not as grave as once thought and the bases would not need to be evacuated in the event of a war in the North, according to a recent study conducted by the army's Planning Division, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The study was conducted by a team of officers and included an advanced analysis of the missiles in the arsenals of Israel's enemies, particularly Syria and Hizbullah. It was initiated following the Second Lebanon War, when 4,000 Hizbullah rockets struck northern Israel, leading the IDF to conclude that in the next war the country should expect to come under a massive missile onslaught. Syria is known to have thousands of short-range rockets - as does Hizbullah in Lebanon - and also has several hundred advanced and long-range Scud-C and Scud-D ballistic missiles. While the missiles have long ranges and can carry large conventional or some nonconventional warheads, their accuracy is limited. As reported in the Post on Wednesday, due to an assessment that air force bases would be vulnerable to the missiles in the event of a conflict, the IAF recently purchased a unique material that can be used to seal holes and fix bombed-out runways within minutes. "Our assumption is that we will be under a heavy barrage of missiles in a future conflict," an IAF officer told the Post this week. "This applies to all of the air force bases - in the South and in the North." In the event of war the IDF is considering evacuating the Ramat David Air Force Base situated near Nazareth and transferring the aircraft deployed there to alternative bases in the South. In addition, reservists called up for service will not be ordered to come to the base where their weapons and supplies are stored but rather to an alternative and undisclosed site, since the assumption is that the enemy will target those bases to prevent or at least delay the call-up process. The study further concluded that due to the inaccuracy of the Syrian and Hizbullah missiles, the bases in the center of the country would, at the most, need to delay the draft process by a few hours.