Israel Is Bringing Its Sa’ar-Class Missile Boats to the Gaza Fight

As expected, Israel is using many of the levers at its disposal to oust Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip including naval assets firing into Gaza from just offshore.

Yesterday morning, the Israel Defense Force released video of one of its Sa’ar class missile boats shelling targets in buildings in what appears to be the northern portion of the Gaza Strip.

The video includes footage of shells flying toward and striking targets from the point of view of a fire control display. The projectiles explode on impact with buildings that appear to be immediately along the shoreline though some targets beyond the beach appear to be struck as well.

According to the IDF, Israeli Navy forces supported ground troops with strikes on dozens of operational targets belonging to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. “These targets include compounds from which terrorists attacked and fired mortar shells at the forces.”

The Israeli forces fired upon by Hamas were likely in Gaza rather than the Israeli Navy vessels offshore which appear to be two miles or more off the coastline, making it unlikely that the mortars used by Hamas could reach them.

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As the video continues, a shot of what is certainly a Sa’ar 4.5-class missile boat proceeding through the coastal Mediterranean is seen from the perspective of another vessel. Footage, albeit zoomed-in, of a missile boat in action follows.

The vessel, possibly INS Sufa, can be seen firing salvos from its stern-mounted 76mm OTO autocannon, a gun built and designed by the Italian arms maker OTO Melara, a unit of defense prime Leonardo. More than 50 nations use the 76mm (3-inch) cannon on military vessels from patrol boats to frigates and destroyers.

The Israeli Navy has 10 Sa’ar 4.5 class missile boats built by Israel Shipyards Ltd. in Haifa Bay in northern Israel. Weighing in at 488 tons with a 25-foot beam and 202-foot length, they are essentially larger regional patrol vessels which combine a selection of Harpoon and Gabriel anti-ship missiles, and Barak surface to air missiles with the 76mm cannon.

Two of the Sa’ar 4.5-class missile boats are capable of carrying and launching Eurocopter Panther helicopters. The Sa’ar class missile boats have seen previous action off Lebanon in the 1980s but the recent action off of the Gaza shoreline is believed to be the first time their guns have actively been brought to bear on the Strip.

As I noted in a previous piece on the Israeli Navy, the service was likely to be brought into the conflict to provide fire support sooner or later.

Along with smaller coastal patrol boats that have been working to intercept resupply to Hamas from the water and to secure the immediate coastline along the Strip, Israel’s missile boats and Corvettes can provide heavier precision fire with little risk of interference. They also bring useful sensors (radar, infrared, optical) to the battlespace.

How much more fire support the Navy will be asked to provide is unclear but if Hamas concentrates along the coastline as IDF units progress south, its boats and ships will surely be there to surveil and, if necessary, attack any terrorist formations that arise.