Israel Must Prepare Itself for the Coming Wave of Maritime Terrorism https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2021/12/israel-must-prepare-itself-for-the-coming-wave-of-maritime-terrorism/

December 10, 2021 | Eliezer Marom
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As 90 percent of Israeli imports and exports are shipped by sea, and the country is now engaged in major offshore gas drilling, it is particularly vulnerable to attacks that come by sea, writes Eliezer Marom, the former commander of the Israeli navy:

Hamas in Gaza is constantly consolidating its naval offensive capabilities, using underwater means as well as unmanned vehicles. At the same time, the rocket threat to gas rigs is growing. On the northern front, Hizballah is improving its capabilities to infiltrate the navy’s routine security apparatus as part of its efforts to infiltrate Israel’s northern shores. Moreover, the Iranian-backed Shiite terrorist group is currently in possession of various missiles—some operationally advanced—that pose a threat to Israeli gas rigs as well as to maritime traffic to and from the Jewish state.

Another challenge the Israeli navy is facing is that of protecting the freedom of travel to Israel in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, amid growing attempts to disrupt it.

While no other fleet in the Mediterranean poses an actual threat to navigational freedom, the same cannot be said for the Red Sea. This body of water’s shape, and the fact that six countries in Asia and Africa—Yemen and Saudi Arabia to the east; Egypt to the north and west; Sudan, Eritrea, and Djibouti to the west; and Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia in the Gulf of Aqaba—dot its shores—means that Israeli shipping could face threats from unstable countries that could become hostile in the event of a war.

Fortunately, as Marom explains, there are steps the IDF can take to make itself better prepared.

Read more on Israel Hayom: https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/12/06/is-maritime-terrorism-the-next-storm-israel-must-weather/