Gantz: IDF gets set to target 50,000 Al Qaeda fighters piling up around Israel in Syria and Iraq

Israel Air Force's Heron UAV

DEBKAfile Special Report:IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz’s cryptic remark Monday, June 6, that “The Israeli Air Force will next month dramatically change its mode of operation,” meant that a decision has been taken to start directing the IAF’s fire power against military and terrorist targets in the Syrian and Iraqi arenas – in particular the al Qaeda forces foregathering ever closer to Israel’s borders with Syria, Iraq and Jordan. By aerial fire power, the general meant not just warplanes but also Israel’s long-range unmanned aerial vehicles and helicopters.
He was lecturing to the Herzliya meeting of the Interdisciplinary Center’s policy and strategy institute.
On May 28, foreign sources were quoted as reporting that the Israeli Air force had shut down its last AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters squadron, which had served manly for strikes against armored and ground targets. Instead, lighter and cheaper drones have been commissioned for use against those targets.
Asked what he meant by “a dramatic change in the IAF’s mode of operations,” Gen. Gantz replied: A different kind of enemy is at our door. It is “more mobile, better at concealment and comes from farther away.”
If we count the jihadists present in the northern part of the map (.i.e., north of Israel) and add them to those scattered in the south and east (Iraq, Jordan and the Sinai Peninsula), we come to a total of 50,000 armed Islamist fighters, he said...Continue reading... Related:  IDF Official: 170,000 Missiles Aimed at Israel. www.israelnationalnews.com
By Moshe Cohen:

Illustration: Gaza terrorists manufacturing rockets

Flash 90

Terror groups have managed to replenish their supply of missiles, a year and a half after Israel delivered a crushing blow to Hamas in Operation Pillar of Defense, said Itai Brun, director of research in the IDF Intelligence branch. Speaking at the annual Herzliya Conference, Brun said said that there were hundreds of long-range missiles in Gaza – and that between Hezbollah, Hamas, and the other Gaza terror groups, there were now 170,000 missiles aimed at Israel...Continue reading...