The German shipyard has begun to build the four new Israeli warships that will be used to defend the natural gas deposits and territorial waters of the country. According to the Israeli navy commander, the Sa’ar-6 ships are one of the main pillars in the IDF’s naval defensive wall. In recent years the importance of maritime supremacy has been strengthened with the awareness that it constitutes a pillar of the security of the State of Israel. Over 90% of Israeli imports arrive by sea and the Israeli navy is much lower than other IDF armed forces, although they have to protect about 44,000 sq km. of sea, almost twice the size of Israel. The new ships will be used to defend Israel’s natural gas drilling rigs, which supply about 60% (and soon 75%) of the nation’s electricity. According to the naval officer, in peacetime a missile ship will patrol the territorial waters of Israel as a whole, but during the war period, the navy will place a ship near each platform, which are clear targets for Hezbollah. It is believed that the Lebanese group has the ability to hit any point of the Israeli territorial sea, in fact, despite not having any naval capacity, it is believed that it has long-range missiles, including precision ballistic missiles received from Iran, which can hit the facilities and ships within the exclusive Israeli economic zone. Israel hopes to resolve the dispute diplomatically, but is ready to defend its territorial waters. In the words of the ministers, this means that if Hezbollah were to attack, the response would be faster and more devastating than in the past.
