As tensions escalate in the Middle East, Israel is taking significant steps to prepare for potential conflict, with both government actions and citizen initiatives ramping up in recent days.

The Israeli government has closed airspace north of Hadera for 24 hours. The Times of Israel reported that the closure applies to all aircraft except for emergency flights by the military, police, firefighters, and medical evacuations. This precautionary measure follows recent high-profile Israeli operations that resulted in the deaths of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of "challenging days ahead" but assured citizens that Israel is "prepared for any scenario. Our enemies should know that if they attack us, the price they will pay will be unbearable."

BREAKING: The airspace of northern Israel will be closed to all civilian air traffic for the next 24 hours, starting at 5:30 AM – Yedioth Ahronoth

— TheRealBiffBifford (@TBifford) July 30, 2024

In response to the heightened security concerns, Israeli citizens are actively preparing for potential disruptions to daily life. A dramatic surge in emergency preparedness equipment sales has been reported across the country.

Major retailers are experiencing up to a 250% increase in sales of generators and portable power stations. The chain Machsanei Chashmal reported a 2.5-fold increase in online sales of these items, with residents of Tel Aviv and Haifa leading the purchases. Liron Katz, VP of business development, told Israel Hayom, "We felt an increase in sales since the rocket hit Majdal Shams on Saturday, and it intensified starting last night due to the assassinations."

The Zap website, a prominent price comparison platform, noted an 80% increase in generator-related searches since Saturday's events. This trend extends beyond a single retailer, with Cinema World (Olam Hakolnoah) reporting that their inventory of generators, especially three-phase models, has been nearly depleted.

Supply chain issues are complicating efforts to meet the surging demand. Daniel Bar Sadeh, Marketing VP of Cinema World, highlighted the challenges: "We currently have no source to obtain more, and we checked this morning with three suppliers we work with, and they don't have any. Inventories are also delayed because of the Houthis."

In addition to power generation equipment, there's been a notable increase in purchases of home freezers, suggesting that Israelis are preparing for potential extended power outages or supply disruptions.

The Israeli government has also heightened security measures, with new precautions ordered for Netanyahu and other senior ministers. Meanwhile, the international community is closely watching developments. The United States has called for de-escalation, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging "all parties" to "stop escalatory actions" and work towards a ceasefire in Gaza.

The post Israelis brace for Iran escalation; airspace restrictions imposed appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

A host of Israeli companies have developed defense systems they say can detect or destroy incoming drones. But obstacles remain, particularly when operating in crowded urban airspaces.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

"Fighting these systems is really hard ... not just because you need to detect them, but you also need to detect them everywhere and all the time," said Ulrike Franke, a policy fellow at the European Council of Foreign Relations.

Drones present unique challenges that set them apart from traditional airborne threats, such as missiles or warplanes.

They can fly below standard military radar systems and use GPS technology to execute pinpoint attacks on sensitive targets for a fraction of the price of a fighter jet. They can also be deployed in "swarms," which can trick or elude conventional defense systems. Even small off-the-shelf drones can be turned into weapons by rigging them with explosives or simply crashing them in crowded areas.

A series of drone strikes across the Middle East, including an attack on a Saudi oil field and processing plant that jolted international markets earlier this month, have underscored the devastating effectiveness of small unmanned attack aircraft.

The drone attack on Saudi energy infrastructure knocked out about half of the kingdom's oil supplies.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels claimed the attack, but the US has blamed Iran itself, which is a leading developer of drone technology and is locked in a bitter rivalry with both Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Similar drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil industry by the Houthis a month earlier caused a "limited fire."

Elsewhere in the region, Israeli warplanes last month struck what Israel said was an Iranian-trained Hezbollah squad that was preparing to launch a group of drones toward Israel from Syria. A day later, Hezbollah said two Israeli drones crashed outside the group's offices in Beirut. Israeli media said the drone strike had destroyed valuable equipment used to make guided missiles.

Earlier this month, the Israeli military said an unmanned aircraft crossed into Israel from the Gaza Strip and dropped explosives on a military vehicle, causing minimal damage and no casualties. It was the second such attack from Gaza in the past year.

These threats are not confined to the battlefield. London's Gatwick Airport shut for parts of three days, stranding over 100,000 travelers ahead of Christmas last year, after drone sightings.

Israel has long been a dominant player in the military drone export business, developing small attack aircraft as well as long-range spy planes. Now, Israeli firms are at the forefront of a global industry developing means to protect against the drone threat.

"There is a lot of knowledge that was adapted from the area of unmanned aerial vehicles, which is something that the military had to deal with for a long, long time," said Ben Nassi, a researcher at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev specializing in drone threats.

In a laboratory near Israel's main international airport, Israel Aerospace Industries offered a glance at its new optical detection system: a black cube resembling a souped-up subwoofer that it says can spot a standard commercial drone from several miles away.

The state-owned company says the Popstar system can track and identify flying objects day or night without being detected. Developers say the system, which has already been field-tested by the Israeli military, can differentiate threats from standard civilian aircraft with an advanced algorithm.

"On a daily basis we see these small-scale threats, such as drones, that can tie up a whole airport and shut down the entire air traffic," said Ariel Gomez, a systems engineer at IAI who worked on the new drone detection platform.

"Our system can discern from several kilometers away from any threat that approaches," he said.

Popstar focuses on protecting fixed, high-value targets like airports or energy infrastructure. Experts say it is much more difficult to use the technology in crowded urban environments, where heavy air traffic and high-rise buildings can create confusion and obstacles.

"Most of the industry is actually targeting the threats in a no-fly area," said Nassi. "When it comes to populated areas, law enforcement has much more difficulties to understand whether a drone is being used maliciously or not."

Israeli company Vorpal says it has found a partial solution to these challenges by developing a system that can detect and track virtually all commercial UAVs in urban airspaces.

Avner Turniansky, Vorpal's vice president of strategy, said the company has compiled a database of signals – what it calls the "signature" – emitted by 95% of drones on the market.

With these signatures, it says it can identify a drone – and locate its operator – within two seconds. Customers can track these aircraft and determine whether they pose a threat.

He said the system has a range of several kilometers, but still has some limitations. If an operator is flying a commercial drone whose signal hasn't been previously collected, it won't be identified. The system would also struggle to identify sophisticated drones built by hostile governments since those signatures are likely unknown.

Still, he said the system can track "the vast majority" of popular drones on the market.

He said the firm has conducted several successful tests with the New York Police Department and counts Israel's national police force and the Defense Ministry as customers. During this year's Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv, he said police caught more than 20 operators who were flying drones in no-fly zones.

According to Israel's Economy Ministry, UAV exports topped $4.6 billion between 2005 and 2013, around 10% of the country's defense exports.

Over a dozen Israeli firms presented cutting-edge anti-drone technologies at London's DSEI exhibition this month, from defense heavyweights Elbit Systems, Raphael and Israel Aerospace Industries, to smaller start-ups like Vorpal. They are part of a booming global industry with competitors from the US, Europe, Singapore, and China.

Anti-drone defenses fall into several categories. Detection systems usually rely on either radio or optical technology to spot incoming drones.

Other systems can stop the aircraft with jammers that down aircraft by scrambling communications, kinetic systems that try to knock the craft out of the sky or systems that allow authorities to seize control of an aircraft.

But for now, none of these systems can provide full protection.

"It's a nasty target. It's a problem," said Turniansky. "It's going to be cat and mouse for a while."

The post As attack drones multiply, Israeli firms develop defenses appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The announcement comes as some global airlines have been rerouting flights to avoid Iran-controlled airspace over the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman after the US aviation regulator barred its carriers from the area until further notice.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The downing of the unarmed Global Hawk drone, which can fly up to 60,000 feet, was the latest in a series of incidents in the Persian Gulf region, a critical artery for global oil supplies.

Thursday's emergency order from the US Federal Aviation Administration came after Iran shot down a high-altitude US drone with a surface-to-air missile, sparking concerns about a threat to the safety of commercial airlines.

According to flight tracking applications, the FAA said the nearest civil aircraft was operating within about 45 nautical miles of the unmanned aircraft when it was shot down.

"There were numerous civil aviation aircraft operating in the area at the time of the intercept," the FFA said, adding that its prohibition would stay in place until further notice.

The FAA said it remained concerned about the escalation of tension and military activity that are in close proximity to high-volume civil aircraft routes as well as Iran's willingness to use long-range missiles in international airspace with little or no warning.

The post Iran insists its airspace 'completely safe,' secure appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The updated guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration to US operators, issued on Sunday at the expiry of the prior year's advisory, said there were also military activities emanating from or transiting through Iran's airspace associated with the conflict in Syria.

Tensions ramped up between Iran and the United States after President Donald Trump pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal with Iran in May and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic republic last month.

Flight Service Bureau, which provides safety information on airspace to airlines, said "without seeming alarmist," that the deteriorating relationship between the US and Iran must be taken into account when planning flights in Iran's airspace.

"Although the reopening of Iraqi airspace in November last year has provided additional routing options … there is no perfect route in the region, and operators must consider their preference for Iraq vs. Iran," the US-based group said in an email to clients on Monday.

The US State Department advises that its citizens do not travel to Iran due to the risk of arbitrary arrest and detention. Flight Service Bureau said that could present problems in the event of an unplanned landing in Iran for medical or technical reasons.

For Iraq, the US State  Department advises its citizens against travel to the country due to terrorism and armed conflict.

The FAA's latest guidance on Iraq, issued in December 2017, prohibits US airlines in most cases from flying at an altitude lower than 26,000 feet due to the potential for fighting.

The post US issues fresh warning to airlines about using Iranian airspace appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.