From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 9, 2023
IDF intel unit helping map Turkish areas devastated by earthquake
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israeli military’s Unit 9900, part of the Military Intelligence Directorate, has been assisting in efforts to map out sites in Turkey damaged by the devastating earthquake.
The Israel Defense Forces says the unit has been producing data sets and decoding satellite photographs, “allowing forces on the ground to pinpoint the location of the damaged sites and thus optimize their work.”
Yesterday, a small team with “advanced technologies capabilities” landed in southeast Turkey to assist the Home Front Command search and rescue teams in rescuing Turkish civilians trapped under the rubble, the IDF says.
“I am proud to take part in the Israeli effort to save lives in Turkey. We are employing mapping capabilities that are usually used for special operations, in order to save lives wherever needed,” says Lt. Aleph — who can only be identified by the first initial of his name in Hebrew — the commander of the small Unit 9900 team.
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