BBC – Israeli navy ’seizes arms ship’

Israel’s navy has intercepted a ship carrying weapons some 160km (100 miles) off its coast, the military says.

Los Angeles Times – Israeli warships’ passage through Suez Canal causes a stir

The mission prompts speculation that Israel sought to send a message about its military might to Iran and give the impression of close cooperation with Egypt against regional security threats.

Jerusalem Post – IDF warships cross Suez Canal from Mediterranean to Red Sea

Two Sa’ar-5 class Navy ships crossed through the Suez Canal Tuesday, to beef up Israel’s naval presence in the Red Sea. The passage of the ships comes several weeks after a Dolphin-class Navy submarine passed through the waterway for the first time.

Reuters – Israeli sub sails Suez, signaling reach to Iran

An Israeli submarine sailed the Suez Canal to the Red Sea as part of a naval drill last month, defense sources said on Friday, describing the unusual maneuver as a show of strategic reach in the face of Iran.

Christian Science Monitor – How Israel’s naval blockade denies Gazans food, aid

A boat carrying foreign activists and three tons of medical supplies was rerouted Tuesday. Meanwhile, the fishing industry – a key source of jobs and protein – has been crippled.

Defense Technology International – The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency has notified the nation’s Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Israel of Lockheed Martin-designed Littoral Combat Ships as well as associated equipment and services.
more…

BBC – Israel has confirmed it has ended its blockade of Lebanon.

Washington Post – Israel Lifts Lebanese Sea Blockade.
more…

Jerusalem Post – In the face of Iran’s race to obtain nuclear power, Israel signed a contract with Germany last month to buy two Dolphin-class submarines that will, according to foreign reports, provide superior second-strike nuclear capabilities.
more…

New York Times – U.S. and Israeli officials said the successful attack last Friday on an Israeli naval vessel was the strongest evidence to date of direct support by Iran to Hezbollah. The attack was carried out with a sophisticated anti-ship cruise missile, the C-802, an Iranian-made variant of the Chinese Silkworm.

StrategyPage – Chinese Anti-Ship Missiles in Lebanon.
more…

Haaretz – Four Israel Navy sailors were reported missing after an explosives-laden drone, apparently launched by Hezbollah, hit a naval vessel off the coast of Beirut Friday night.
more…

Jerusalem Post -For the first time in history the Israeli Navy is participating in a tactical NATO exercise on the Black Sea.
more…

Jerusalem Post – Israel bolstered its defense ties with NATO on Monday after announcing that the navy would participate, for the first time, in a summertime exercise with the Western military alliance.
more…

New York Times – The Israeli navy intercepted and seized more than half a ton of high-grade explosives that a Palestinian fishing boat was attempting to bring in to Gaza from nearby Egypt.
more…

Jerusalem Post – The Israel Navy has decided to cease sending its warships through the Suez Canal, out of concern they will be targeted by global jihad terrorists.
more…

Haaretz – Israel will take part for the first time in a naval NATO exercise, Sorbet Royal, due to begin on Friday in the Gulf of Taranto in Italy.
more…

UPI – The Israeli navy is exercising with NATO navies for the first time.
more…

Jerusalem Post – Israel has frozen ambitious plans for the purchase of large vessels that would have turned the Israeli Navy from a coast guard into a strategic arm of the defense apparatus.
more…

Haaretz – The Israel Navy is examining two new missile boats, Saar 5+, and a new Barak 8 sea-to-sea missile system for defending ships over ranges of more than 100 kilometers, after incoming Admiral David Ben Besht decided to cancel a plan to acquire 10,000-ton warships.
more…

Jerusalem Post – In a concerted effort to boost security against the threat of terrorism from the sea, the Israeli Navy has dramatically increased the number of surprise at-sea boardings on merchant ships heading to Israeli ports.
more…

Jerusalem Post – OC Navy Adm. David Ben-Bashat has reportedly confirmed that Israel is to purchase two more Dolphin-class submarines from Germany and that the contract will be signed this coming spring.

more…