They seek for explosives and are the primary members of the Israeli navy to enter tunnels and different areas that would have traps in the Gaza Strip.
Israel is relying closely on canine in its navy marketing campaign to push Hamas and different militant teams out of Gaza’s maze of tunnels and blasted buildings. “Dogs are doing amazing work,” the Israeli navy’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, stated in a briefing on Friday, after the navy launched a video of a canine exploring a tunnel.
But the canine unit additionally attracts criticism. Israel says its canine assist elite commando items and save the lives of troopers. Critics say the canine are used improperly to intimidate individuals.
The use of canine got here again into the highlight this week when Admiral Hagari stated that the military not too long ago despatched a canine, geared up with a video digicam, right into a constructing complicated to clear the world. The canine was shot and killed, and the animal’s encounter with militants was recorded by the digicam.
The digicam, later recovered, additionally captured the voices of three Israeli hostages who have been believed to have escaped after troopers killed the militants. The video turned a key piece of proof later, after the hostages have been mistakenly shot and killed by Israeli troopers, as a result of it confirmed that the Israeli navy had come near discovering the hostages earlier than they have been killed.
Dogs have misplaced their lives in Israel’s navy, generally known as the Israeli Defense Forces. In November, the Israeli navy posted on social media in regards to the deaths of 4 canine that helped uncover booby traps and stockpiles of weapons. “Specially trained dogs play an essential role in the I.D.F.’s operational activities inside Gaza,” the put up famous.
About 100 troopers yearly are drafted for a 16-month coaching course to affix Israel’s canine unit, Israeli navy spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht stated.
The Israeli navy’s use of canine has been criticized. At a briefing on Sunday, Hussam Abu Safiya, head of the pediatric division of Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza, accused the Israeli navy of unleashing assault canine in a raid on the hospital and called for an international investigation, Turkish media reported. The Israeli navy raided the hospital over a number of days final week. A navy spokesman didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
In September, earlier than the struggle in Gaza started, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported on troopers looking out the house of Palestinians in the West Bank using a dog to intimidate feminine relations. It was one in every of a number of incidents involving military dogs to generate headlines in Israel over time.
Dogs have an extended historical past of collaborating in navy conflicts, going as far back as 600 B.C. In 1942, the United States created the primary official canine military unit, and American particular forces used canine in the raids that killed the Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in 2011 and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the chief of the Islamic State, in 2019.
Still, this practice is controversial — the animals don’t have a authorized standing and are primarily tools or know-how, and don’t enlist voluntarily. Like people, canine can grow to be traumatized by struggle and bear psychological scars from their work.
