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Following the attack on Israel by the radical Islamic group Hamas, Israeli politicians are calling for retaliation. The Israeli army is already carrying out attacks on Hamas positions and shelling buildings in the Gaza Strip. But for some politicians that doesn’t go far enough.
Israeli politician Revital Gotliw (47), associated with the strong right wing of the Likud party, publicly called for the use of a nuclear bomb against Hamas on Wednesday. She also mentioned the Jericho missile – a nuclear weapon whose existence Israel has never publicly confirmed. However, the existence of the Jericho is an open secret.
In fact, Jericho is behind a surface-to-surface ballistic missile weapons program. The Jericho-1 missile was built in 1963. At 13.4 meters long, it was relatively small, according to data from the British International Institute for Strategic Studies. The weight was also quite low at 6.5 tons. The rocket could have a payload of about 1,000 kilograms. The range was quite small at 500 kilometers. The Jericho 1 has now been decommissioned.
Various models of Jericho
In 1977, Israel began developing the successor model, Jericho 2. At approximately 14 meters in size and 1.35 meters in diameter, the rocket was larger, but the payload remained the same. But the rocket could fly considerably further: its range was 1,500 kilometers. This rocket has now also been decommissioned.
Twenty years later, development of the current model Jericho 3 began. The medium-range missile is still in use, at least that is what international military analysts assume. There has been no confirmation from Israel itself about its possession of the Jericho missiles. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, USA, Jericho 3 was first tested in 2008. Since 2011 it can actually be used.
According to scientists at the Lawrence Liuvermore National Laboratory in the US, the Jericho 3 can “carry a warhead between 5,000 and 6,500 kilometers.” “A Jericho-3 missile with a payload of up to 1,000 kilos could enable Israel to launch a nuclear attack on all countries in the Middle East (including Iran), Africa, Europe and Asia,” the military data website writes Global Security. But use with conventional warheads or cluster munitions is also possible.
Stored in bunkers
The warhead at the tip of the missile would weigh between 750 and 1,500 kilograms, and the destruction would be enormous. The rocket is controlled with an active tail that continuously adjusts its course. According to CSIS data, the mechanism is based on a combination of GPS satellite data and inertial navigation.
The Jericho missiles are fired from mobile systems and can be deployed extremely quickly. Accurate launch points and thus targeted destruction are therefore practically impossible for the enemy. In addition, the missiles must reach high speeds just below the noise limit, which should make it significantly more difficult for them to be shot down by enemy defense systems.
According to military experts, the vast majority of Jericho-3 missiles are likely to be at the Sdfot Micha air base, about 40 kilometers southeast of Tel Aviv. The missiles and launch vehicles are stored underground in special bomb-proof bunkers, CSIS writes.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
