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Inside the IDF's Intelligence Target Bank Headquarters

(Jerusalem Post) Yonah Jeremy Bob - In May 2021, a joint Israel Security Agency-IDF operation targeted four senior members of Hamas' General Staff Forum: Gaza City Brigade commander Bassem Issa; Jamaa Tahla, head of Hamas' cyber command, leader of its missile improvement project and head of its R&D department; Jamal Zebeda, head of projects and development for Hamas' production network; and Hazzem Hatib, chief engineer and deputy head of Hamas' production network. The air force removed them from the playing field. Hitting all four of these key officials in a short period of time was considered a leap forward in the IDF's intelligence targeting capabilities. IDF intelligence used to have hundreds of targets in its Lebanon target bank; now it has thousands. In addition, when a conflict breaks out with Gaza or Lebanon, the IDF could double the number of targets in the target bank over the course of the conflict. A synergy of artificial intelligence and technology beginning in 2019 takes targeting exponentially to an entirely different level. At a practical level, it means being able to confirm a new target in three minutes which before would have taken 24 hours. The IDF believes its standards are higher than ever. Few of the target bank personnel are 18-year-olds. The average age is 24-25, meaning that personnel already have had six to seven years of IDF experience and have completed an intense three-month targeting course.
2023-04-13 00:00:00
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