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New Radar Gives Gaza-Area Israelis 15 Seconds to Take Shelter from Mortar Shells
(Times of Israel) Tamar Pileggi - The IDF Home Front Command has finished work on a new radar that will improve the warning system for incoming mortar shells to residents of Israeli communities adjacent to Gaza, allowing them a 15-second warning, Army Radio reported Monday. While Israel's current alert system warns of incoming rockets, it has proven less effective against short-range shells, often leaving residents little or no warning of incoming fire. Alon Schuster, head of the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council, welcomed the new warning system, saying, "Those 15 seconds are important. They improve the response time for anyone needing to find shelter." During the 50-day conflict with Hamas in 2014, mortars proved to be one of the deadliest means of attack, claiming the lives of 10 IDF soldiers in a single week, three Israeli civilians and a Thai national.