Top naval officer to Hezbollah: Don’t test us
IDF has been on high alert in the North since July 20
Four months after the IDF first raised its alert level in northern Israel, the navy’s 914 Squadron remains ready to respond to any threat along the border with Lebanon.
Despite the calm that residents sense, “there’s nothing quiet when commanding an operational squadron, especially in the North,” Cmdr. Kfir Raveh told The Jerusalem Post.
Raveh took up his position last year, shortly before Hezbollah fired three anti- tank missiles at IDF positions along the border.
“I saw how within minutes the area could become tense,” he said.
A year later, the same scenario is playing out.
Though the military is on high alert and roadblocks have been set up along the roads close to the border, the residents are going about their daily routine.
“This year, we have also had several challenges in the maritime arena,” Raveh said, adding that one main challenge is making sure troops stay alert at all times, even when it seems quiet.
“Hezbollah is our main threat and we have to always be prepared to go from 0- 100.”
Responsible for the northern sector, Squadron 914 watches over the border between Israel and Lebanon and the country’s exclusive economic zone ( EEZ) which brings in 90% of Israel’s imports on Dvora patrol boats.
The navy is also tasked with securing the natural gas drilling rigs that are in Israel’s EEZ,
clear targets for enemies off Israel’s northern coast. The IDF believes that Hezbollah has long- range missiles that can hit the rigs, which supply a large amount of the electricity consumed in Israel.
“We are protecting Israel and its EEZ from the threat of Hezbollah. These are our main responsibilities. It’s not this or that – we know how to deal with both of them and protect them simultaneously,” Raveh said.
Divided into three areas, Haifa in the North and Ashdod and Eilat in the South, the navy must use everything at its disposal to gather intelligence and keep the waters safe from any threat, including working with the Air and Ground Forces – in any weather conditions.
According to Raveh, although the navy’s ties with the Air Force have always been strong, the ties with the ground forces have increased in the past few years.
And that cooperation is vital when dealing with Hezbollah, an enemy that has the capability to hit both ground and sea targets.
Israel has been bracing for a possible attack by the terrorist group after an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria on July 20 killed one of its members.
Hezbollah said at the time that a response was “inevitable,” leading Israel to deploy troop reinforcements along with advanced intelligence and precision fire systems to its northern borders and ban military vehicles from driving on roads adjacent to the borders.
According to Raveh, although his squadron is ready and prepared to respond to any incident at sea, he advised Hezbollah to think twice about attacking Israel.
“Hezbollah really has to consider if they want to act because our response will make them understand that it wasn’t worth it,” he warned.