ANALYSIS – Even as Hamas terrorists use the entire civilian population as one big human shield and hide themselves and their weapons, like rats, in a maze of underground tunnels beneath the civilians, Israel still tries to limit noncombatant casualties, if possible.
But, as the recent Israeli air and missile campaign against Hamas in Gaza clearly shows, this doesn't always work. Many innocent Palestinians have been killed, though we should never take the casualty counts provided by terrorists at face value.
Their numbers are usually grossly inflated.
In the recent case of the Gaza hospital explosion wrongly attributed to Israel but later proven to be the result of an errant rocket launched from Gaza by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hamas exaggerated the casualty numbers tenfold – from about 50 to 500.
Still, Israel is now deploying a new precision-guided 120 mm mortar system in its ongoing campaign of strikes against Hamas. The Iron Sting mortar is designed to better hit targets in urban environments while minimizing collateral damage and civilian casualties.
Please note, despite the reference to Hamas ‘militants' in the graphic above, I always call them terrorists, and savages, which they are.
Newsweek reported:
Then Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said it [‘Iron Sting'] would allow the IDF to “contend with enemies hidden within civilian, urban environments, while meeting the legal and moral standards” of modern warfare. Operating in close quarters in a densely-populated area is one of the major challenges posed by a widely anticipated ground offensive on Gaza, experts have highlighted.
Iron Sting became operational with the IDF two years ago, but this is the first time that the IDF has publicly demonstrated its capabilities on the battlefield. More units should be equipped with the smart mortar bombs in the coming months, with all mortar teams in infantry and armored units eventually having them.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) shared footage on Sunday of the first recorded use of the munition in combat.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the mortar, used by the Maglan commando unit, which operates deep inside hostile territory, hit a rocket-launching site used to attack Israel the night prior to the mortar strike, according to Newsweek.
Newsweek added:
According to multiple Israeli outlets, in a statement, Major General Omer Cohen, Maglan brigade commander, said: “Thanks to the precision, lethality and expertise of the fighters, the Maglan unit in cooperation with the air force foiled dozens of terrorists with a variety of means, one of which is the precision ‘Iron Sting.'”
The Jerusalem Post newspaper explained that the mortar shells were designed for use in both open terrain and urban environments for accurate targeting while minimizing surrounding damage.
It reported that Iron Sting uses both a global positioning system (GPS) and laser guidance, plus fins to maneuver and hit targets precisely. The outlet also noted that the range of the round is up to 7.5 miles, and it can penetrate double-reinforced concrete.
Mortar bombs are fired with a very steep trajectory, allowing them to hit with little warning, and can cause substantial damage within a radius of tens of meters.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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