Hagari says IDF disrupting GPS signals in central Israel to ‘neutralize threats’
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari acknowledges that the military has disrupted GPS signals in central Israel, in what he says is part of efforts to “neutralize some threats.”
“Over the past day, we initiated GPS disruptions in order to neutralize threats. This effort assists in neutralizing some threats, therefore this method was used,” he says in a press conference.
“We are aware that these disruptions cause inconveniences, but it is a vital and necessary tool in our defensive capabilities,” Hagari adds.
The GPS disruptions have previously been widely reported in northern Israel or areas close to Gaza, but have been less common in central Israel. They come a day after the IDF said that it bolstered its air defense array and had called up reservists, as the country girded for a potential Iranian response to a strike in Syria earlier this week blamed on Israel in which several high-ranking Iranian military officials were killed.