They seek for explosives and are the primary members of the Israeli army to enter tunnels and different areas that would have traps within the Gaza Strip.
Israel is relying closely on canines in its army marketing campaign to push Hamas and different militant teams out of Gaza’s maze of tunnels and blasted buildings. “Canine are doing wonderful work,” the Israeli army’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, mentioned in a briefing on Friday, after the army launched a video of a canine exploring a tunnel.
However the canine unit additionally attracts criticism. Israel says its canines help elite commando items and save the lives of troopers. Critics say the canines are used improperly to intimidate individuals.
Using canines got here again into the highlight this week when Admiral Hagari mentioned that the military just lately despatched a canine, outfitted with a video digicam, right into a constructing complicated to clear the realm. The canine was shot and killed, and the animal’s encounter with militants was recorded by the camera.
The digicam, later recovered, additionally captured the voices of three Israeli hostages who had been believed to have escaped after troopers killed the militants. The video grew to become a key piece of proof later, after the hostages had been mistakenly shot and killed by Israeli troopers, as a result of it confirmed that the Israeli army had come near discovering the hostages earlier than they had been killed.
Canine have misplaced their lives in Israel’s army, referred to as the Israeli Protection Forces. In November, the Israeli army posted on social media concerning the deaths of 4 canines that helped uncover booby traps and stockpiles of weapons. “Specifically skilled canines play a necessary function within the I.D.F.’s operational actions 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 army spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht mentioned.
The Israeli army’s use of canines 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 army of unleashing assault canines in a raid on the hospital and called for an international investigation, Turkish media reported. The Israeli army raided the hospital over a number of days final week. A army spokesman didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
In September, earlier than the battle in Gaza started, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported on troopers looking out the house of Palestinians within the West Financial institution using a dog to intimidate feminine relations. It was one in all a number of incidents involving military dogs to generate headlines in Israel through the years.
Canine have a protracted historical past of taking part in army conflicts, going as far back as 600 B.C. In 1942, the USA created the primary official canine military unit, and American particular forces used canines within 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.
Nonetheless, this practice is controversial — the animals don’t have a authorized standing and are primarily gear or expertise, and don’t enlist voluntarily. Like people, canines can change into traumatized by war and bear psychological scars from their work.