Israel develops new weapons for next war

Military Space News/

 Combat infantry battalions are equipped with unmanned aerial vehicles, such as the Skylark I and Skylark II developed by Elbit Systems, for tactical surveillance.

Amid a flurry of warnings that Lebanon and Hezbollah will be hammered in any new conflict, the Israeli military unveiled a new 120mm tank shell said to be able to penetrate reinforced targets, including in populated areas.

"Such a capability -- to accurately target terrorists hiding inside homes -- is believed to be crucial for the army as it faces future conflicts with Hezbollah and Hamas, both terrorist groups which embed themselves within civilian infrastructure," The Jerusalem Post reported.

In the same edition, the daily's military correspondent, Yaakov Katz, quoted senior defense officials as saying that "Israel will attack Lebanese government targets during a future war with Hezbollah."

This blitzkrieg, it says, would be triggered by retaliatory attacks on Israel by the heavily armed, Iranian-backed Shiite movement if Israel launches pre-emptive strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities.

The report was headlined "Lebanese targets fair game in war with Hezbollah."

In 2006, the Israelis said they deliberately didn't target Lebanese facilities since the Beirut government didn't support Hezbollah. But now Hezbollah dominates the government, the Israelis say all bets are off.

"It was a mistake not to attack Lebanese government targets during the Second Lebanon War in 2006," one senior officer said. "We will not be able to hold back from doing so in a future war."

This is known as the "Dahiya Doctrine," after the Israeli air force's relentless bombing of the Dahiya district in south Beirut during that 34-day conflict. Only next time it will much, much worse.

Suburban Dahiya was considered to be the nerve center of the Hezbollah leadership and large areas were flattened.  More >>