Inside Israel’s devastating arsenal with high tech jets & tanks as 300,000 troops called up to strike back against Hamas
ISRAEL is unleashing its devastating arsenal of high-tech weaponry, tanks and warplanes to obliterate the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
The defence forces are already pounding the Gaza Strip with air strikes and rockets, while they amass 300,000 reserve troops and 300 tanks poised for a possible ground offensive.
Israel's Defence Forces (IDF) are relying on the full force of its military might to carry out revenge on Hamas after the terrorist's surprise attack killed over 700 Israelis.
A deadly concoction of over 600 warplanes and 300 rocket launchers is being used to blitz the densely-populated Gaza Strip as Israel begins their "complete siege".
In the last 20 hours, Israeli officials have said they have dropped 2,000 munitions and 1,000 ton bombs on over 2,400 Hamas targets.
Now, Israel is planning to launch a coordinated ground offensive in the "next 48 hours", US officials reported yesterday.
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The small nation has drafted in an extra 300,000 reserve troops to bolster its 173,000-strong army that is headed for war.
The Top 20 World Power has a deadly iron arsenal under its belt, including F-16I "Storm" fighter jets , Merkava IV tanks, Sa-ar 6 warships, the "Iron Dome" and Jericho III nuclear missiles.
F-16Is
Soaring above the skies of Gaza and reigning hell down on the area are Israel's hefty fleet of F16Is.
The well-revered Israeli Air Force has been mastering the use of the "Storm" fighter jets since the early 2000s - perfecting long-range strikes.
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It is a slightly modified version of the US-made Flying Falcons - the most popular warplane in the world - and Israel holds the largest fleet outside of the US.
They 50ft beasts can reach speeds of 1,350mph and are capable of carrying 17,000lbs of bombs across large ranges.
They can rely on its complex electronic jamming and helmet systems to foil enemy radars to fly undetected.
Merkava IVs
The IDF spent decades perfecting their main battle tanks, which are specially designed and deployed for urban warfare as the Gaza-Israel conflict rages on.
They have formed the backbone of the IDF's Armored Corps and earlier models have been in service since the 1970s.
Merkava IV's weapons include a 125-mm cannon that can launch Lahat anti-tank missiles, heavy machine guns, smoke launchers and a 60-mm mortar.
The frightening 8-man tanks have previously proved successful in urban, low-intensity combat.
Sa'ar 6 Corvette
The Sa'ar 6-class corvette warships are tasked with protecting Israel's coastlines along the Med and the Red Sea.
The successor of the smaller class 5s, the 2,000-ton vessels are fitted with almost 20 advanced sensors, weapons and communication systems.
Despite its size, the warship packs a punch and can fire the devastating Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles at targets.
It can also defend itself with the mighty Phalanx CIWS system that can target any incoming radar-guided missiles, like those previously launched at the ships by Hezbollah militants.
The Iron Dome
The Israeli all-weather land-based air defence system is as powerful as its name suggests.
The homegrown weapon can blast short-range rockets and mortars out the sky and has since 2011 been effectively intercepting a constant barrage of rockets fired from Palestinians territories.
The Iron Dome can calculate whether the rockets are about to hit a target, and if so, they will launch one of its 20 interceptor radar-guided missiles to explode its target.
Earlier this year, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls to send the air defence systems to Ukraine over fears it could end up falling into Iranian hands.
Jericho III
The terrifying Jericho III intercontinental ballistic missile entered service in 2011 after being steadily developed by Israel since the 1970s.
It is reportedly the most advanced nuclear missile in the Middle East and is capable of striking targets as far away as the US.
The radar-guided missile can carry a 750kg nuclear warhead over a range of 4,800-6,500km.
The weapons are said to be stored in secret underground caves south-west of Tel Aviv.
It comes as...
- Israel blitzed Gaza with more heavy airstrikes overnight
- The IDF mobilised 300,000 reservists for a full-scale ground invasion
- More than 3,000 have been confirmed dead in Israel and Gaza and thousands more injured
- PM Netanyahu dubbed Hamas "worse than ISIS" and said Israel will crush them with "a force like never before"
- The terrorists threatened to execute hostages and broadcast grisly footage
- Three British citizens have been confirmed dead, while seven other Britons are missing
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More than 1,200 people in Israel and the Gaza Strip have been killed since Hamas terrorists launched an all-out attack on Israel from land, air and sea with 5,000 rockets fired during the early hours of Saturday morning.
After officially declaring war on the militants, Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to reduce Gaza to “rubble” as he relentlessly blitzes Hamas strongholds in revenge for their bloodbath.
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) is gathering 173,000 troops including 8,000 elite commandos, along with 300 tanks, artillery pieces and rocket launchers in border town Sderot.
A further 300,000 reserve troops have been readied in an unprecedented move and sent south ahead of the planned invasion.
On Monday morning, Israel imposed a "complete siege" on the area - including a sweeping ban on food and fuel moving into Gaza and an immediate cut-off of the water supply.
"There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed," Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said.
"We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly."
The US is also moving several warships - including USS Gerald Ford - and aircraft to the Mediterranean after Joe Biden pledged Washington's "rock solid" support to Tel Aviv.
Three Brits have been confirmed dead in Israel while seven more remain missing.
Scot by the terrorist group during the horror attacks on Sunday.
Corporal Nathanel Young, 20, who was serving in the Israeli Defence Forces, was confirmed dead on Saturday.
And Daniel Darlington, a UK photographer, was also killed after attending the musical festival that Hamas stormed.
The US government confirmed 11 Americans have also been killed in Israel.
It was the deadliest assault in the country's 75-year history and has sparked days of bloody strikes and assaults.
Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, said in a chilling statement: "Not since the Holocaust have so many Jews been killed in one day."
Over 260 bodies have been recovered from the Supernova music festival in southern Israel after revellers were slaughtered by gunmen on paragliders and a barrage of rockets.
Rishi Sunak called an urgent COBRA meeting on Monday following the brutal attacks.
The British prime minister said the "barbaric acts" committed by Hamas were "evil".
"There is no other word to describe what we have have seen," he said.
"Teenagers at a festival of peace gunned down in cold blood. Innocent men, women and children abducted, raped, slaughtered.
"Even a Holocaust survivor taken away as a captive. And much of the sickening evidence posted online.
"There are not two sides to these events. There is no question of balance. I stand with Israel.
"We stand with Israel, the United Kingdom stands with Israel against this terrorism today, tomorrow and always."
PM Netanyahu said: "Israel is at war. We didn’t want this war. It was forced upon us in the most brutal and savage way. But though Israel didn’t start this war, Israel will finish it.
"We will exact a price that will be remembered by them and Israel’s other enemies for decades to come.
"Hamas terrorists bound, burned and executed children. They are savages. Hamas is ISIS."
At least 100 citizens have been captured by Hamas and abducted into Gaza - with images circulating on social media of bloodied an murdered hostages.
Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza have fought multiple cross-border wars and have had numerous skirmishes since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007.
The death toll of what is being dubbed "Israel's 9/11" is expected to soar on either sides.
Meanwhile, Hamas insiders claimed that Iran helped them plot the brutal attack.
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They said top officers from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had worked on the plot since August - and reportedly gave the go-ahead at a meeting in Beirut, Lebanon.
Militants from Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia that runs much of Lebanon and has often clashed with Israel, also said Iran helped plot the slaughter.
