IDF lookouts
IDF lookoutsIsrael news photo: Flash 90

The number of IDF lookouts on the border with Egypt has been doubled in recent months, according to outgoing Field Intelligence Corps, Brig. Gen. Eli Pollack.

"The resources available to us, such as radar and UAVs, have been multiplied several times over," said Brig. Gen. Pollack. "There is a lot of activity on the border, which has resulted in prevention of several attacks along with a reduction in the number of penetrations. Within a year not only will there be a fence – nothing will happen along the Sinai border without us knowing about it," he predicted.

"This year, in Gaza alone, we have prevented dozens of attempted attacks and penetrations thanks to our intelligence gathering capabilities," he said. "If a lookout cannot see something due to fog, the radar picks it up. If something is happening too far away for the combat soldier to see it, it gets picked up by our observation balloons. What we observe gets reported by the lookouts' company commander directly to the battalion commanders, who will deploy troops to the area, to respond to the event."

"These forces complement each other," explained Pollack. "The cooperation between logistics, infantry, engineering and field intelligence has grown considerably over the past few years. They have been using us in a fantastic way and it has resulted in numerous successes."