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Is It Time for an IDF Missile Corps?
Hezbollah members parade during a rally marking al-Quds Day, (Jerusalem Day) in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon, April 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
JNS.org – Iran’s April 14 attack on strategic Israeli sites including the Nevatim F-35 air base was successfully stopped by an extraordinarily capable multi-layered air-defense system and assistance from allied militaries, but still serves as a reminder that Israeli air bases are a prime target for both Iran and its Lebanese Shi’ite proxy, Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, which has more firepower than most NATO militaries, will certainly attempt to saturate Israeli air defenses and target airbases in any future full-scale conflict with Israel.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah claimed it had targeted an Iron Dome air defense battery in northern Israel with suicide drones.
The potential establishment of an “Israel Defense Forces Missile Corps,” perhaps under the Israeli Air Force or the IDF Artillery Corps, would represent a significant shift toward enhancing Israeli attack capabilities through advanced, land-based missile systems. These would both partially ease the very intensive workload of the IAF, and create redundancy options for Israeli firepower capabilities.
According to an April 10 report in Aviation Week, citing an American defense official, the IAF’s 39-jet fleet of F-35Is “have surged to more than five times normal operations since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas and have sustained that level with the help of international support.” The report added that the Israel fleet of stealth fighters saw a “565% jump in monthly average flight hours over a six-month period.”
“By moving to three shifts for nonstop operations, Israeli maintainers and contractor field service representatives have allowed the Israeli Air Force to continue flying F-35Is at a rate of 35-39 jets a day,” the report said, giving an indication of the IAF’s workload even prior to the April 14 attack.
The first advantage of a ground-based Israeli missile corps would be reducing at least some of the workload currently facing the IAF.
In addition, ground-based missile units offer rapid response—operational within minutes—alongside minimal crew requirements for operation and maintenance.
Vitally, creating more such missile bases would also give Israel alternative strike options in the event that an enemy manages to impair the country’s air bases (despite the fact that the IAF is confident in its ability to rapidly repair runways and other air base infrastructure).
The introduction of a dedicated missile corps would complement the manned and unmanned array of fighter jets, combat helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, with UAVs able to help direct the fire of the missiles.
Diversifying Israel’s strike mechanisms and dispersing strategic risks would be the main benefits of such a move.
The IDF is already equipped with a range of surface-to-surface guided rocket and missile systems. Israel’s adversaries have claimed, without corroboration, that such missiles have already been used. For example, in May 2022, Syrian state media claimed that Israeli surface-to-surface missiles were used in a strike on a target near Damascus, and that the missiles were fired from the Golan Heights.
It seems safe to assume that many of the systems offered by Israeli defense company Elbit Systems are already integrated into the IDF. The government-owned Tomer defense company stands as the backbone of these developments, acting as the country’s rocket propulsion knowledge center and having a hand in developing these sophisticated systems.
Elbit’s products include the autonomous artillery rocket system called Precise and Universal Launching System (PULS), with which, according to Elbit, “there is no need to move artillery units based on the required firing range; the versatile solution can fire a variety of ammunition types to various ranges from the same position, to ranges of up to 300 kilometers [186 miles].”
In addition, the Accular is described as a “highly accurate, combat-proven guided rocket designed to support ground forces. The artillery rocket addresses urban warfare requirements and the need for near-real-time responsiveness. Accular can neutralize targets to a range of up to 40 kilometers [25 miles] and is especially required in areas where the use of traditional artillery is limited by terrain, distance and accuracy.”
Other products include the Extra artillery rocket, which has a range of 150 kilometers [93 miles] and which travels at supersonic speeds, and the Predator Hawk long-range strike rocket, which has a 300 kilometer [186 mile] range.
Israel’s long-range ballistic missile capabilities remain classified.
According to international media reports, they include variants of the Jericho ballistic missile (types 1 through 3) and submarine-launched Popeye cruise missiles.
An independent IDF missile corps is both timely and necessary. Recent events suggest that while air defenses have never been more important for guarding Israel’s attack capabilities, relying primarily on aircraft for strikes may be placing too many eggs in too few baskets.
The post Is It Time for an IDF Missile Corps? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.