Despite its ups and downs, the year of 2020 had at least one positive for Israel, it was the safest for Israelis in the past decade, said a military report published Thursday.
The IDF report said although 2020 saw a lower number of terror attacks compared to past years, there was a rise in what the army calls "The War Between the Wars", which is covert and open military operations against Israel's enemies abroad, mainly Syria, Iran and its Lebanese proxy, terror group Hezbollah.
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IDF soldiers searching for the killer of slain soldier Amit Ben Yigal
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
According to the report, as of Dec. 20, the militants in the Gaza Strip fired 176 projectiles into Israeli territory, with 90 of them landing in open areas.
The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted 80 out of the 86 rockets that were heading toward populated areas, giving the system a 93% success rate.
Over the past year, almost 300 military targets in Gaza were attacked by the IDF. One underground terror tunnel along the Gaza border was uncovered this year, which apparently was dug by Hamas and crossed into Israeli territory.
Although the West Bank saw stagnation in terror attacks, there was a rise in other security-related incidents.
At least 1,500 rock-hurling incidents were recorded in the area over the past year, a small increase in comparison to 2019, during which 1,469 similar incidents were reported.
In addition, 229 molotov cocktail attacks against Israeli vehicles or settlements were recorded, compared to 290 last year and 990 in 2018.
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IDF soldiers looking for the killer of slain settler Esther Hurgen
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The past year also saw an increase in fire exchanges, with 31 incidents reported in 2020, compared to 19 last year, but a drop in stabbing attacks, with nine incidents in 2020, compared to 12 last year.
In 2020, the IDF significantly stepped up its campaign against the West Bank’s local gun production industry, shutting down 50 workshops where it said guns were being manufactured. In 2019, 14 such workshops had been shut down, while in 2018 only four.
The army also confiscated 541 firearms and 330 knives in 2020, compared to 603 weapons and 521 blades in 2019.
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IDF soldiers on the northern border disarming mines along the border fence with Syria
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
On the northern front, the Israel Air Force carried out 50 strikes against targets in Syria in the past year. The latest attack that was attributed to Israel took place on Tuesday, in which one Syrian soldier died and three others were wounded, according to Syrian sources.
The military also reported that in 2020 it foiled 10 attempts to cross the border from Lebanon into Israel.
Fighter jets made over 1,400 sorties in 2020, with helicopters carrying out over 400 operations. The navy recorded over 87,336 hours at sea, with 12,356 of them conducted by missile boats.
The military also detailed its contribution to the national fight against the coronavirus pandemic by establishing a special taskforce. Two military R&R centers were redesignated as coronavirus recovery facilities, while the IDF's "Alon" coronavirus command center conducted over 236,000 epidemiological investigations in 2020.
Over 3,000 reservists were called to service and the Intelligence Directorate compiled 423 reports.