Psychological warfare? Israel on Tuesday unveiled the "first" high-precision images of a new spy satellite taken over the ancient site of Palmyra, Syria, a neighboring country regularly targeted by Israeli strikes.
The images show, seen from space, the ancient site of Palmyra in central Syria, with its semi-circular Roman theater. Some monuments at the site were ransacked by the Islamic State organization before the pre-regime Syrian forces took over the city in 2016.
These new images are the "first" released to the public of the Israeli Ofek-16 reconnaissance satellite, launched in July and currently being tested to determine "its level of performance," according to the Defense Ministry.
First images that are not trivial
As the first images, the Israeli authorities have chosen Syria, a neighboring country ally of Iran, the main enemy of the Hebrew state. Since the start of the war in Syria, Israel has carried out numerous raids in that country, notably against elements of Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian forces which support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against various rebellions.
In recent months, airstrikes attributed to or claimed by Israel have increased in Syria, against sites of the Syrian army and pro-Iran forces in the country.
"Israel knows how to defend itself against its enemies near and far," Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement, commenting on images released by the satellite.
Iran also in the sights?
These “technological means” developed by the government and the military industry are essential for “maintaining Israel's security,” said Benny Gantz, adding that “hundreds of millions” of shekels (4 shekels = 1 euro) had been invested in these space cameras.
Besides Syria, this satellite could try to monitor Iranian nuclear activities, Israel accusing Iran of seeking to go beyond the framework of its civilian program to acquire atomic weapons, which Tehran denies.
World
Saudi Arabia: No normalization with Israel without peace with the Palestinians, warns Riyadh
World
Israel: Macron asks Netanyahu to abandon all plans to annex Palestinian territories
- Satellite
- Conflict
- Syria
- Spying
- Israel
- World