Commanding three fronts simultaneously: Navy commander describes war from a battleship

Iran had escalated its support for its allies in the "Axis of Evil," exemplified by the December 2023 attack when Yemen's Houthis launched a cruise missile and drone toward Israel. As the IDF advanced its ground operations in Gaza, the Israel Navy undertook a complex operation: transferring a Sa’ar 6-class missile ship from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. This sensitive operation, despite Egyptian military security, posed significant challenges due to its proximity to hostile coasts.

Commander (Cmdr.) Omer Karmi, commander of the Sa’ar 6 missile boat flotilla, personally supervised the mission, ensuring readiness for any contingencies. Following the operation, Cmdr. Karmi immediately traveled north to oversee missile ship deployments near Lebanon, safeguarding vital offshore gas rigs. On the same day, a drone struck a navy facility near an anchored missile ship. "We were frustrated that we didn’t intercept it," Cmdr. Karmi told Walla in an interview. He added with a mixture of pride and caution, "A week later, we achieved the first interception by the missile boats.  (Read More)