# Ashdod Naval Base

Ashdod Naval Base, also known as Southern Arena by the Israeli Navy, is a naval base located in the port city of Ashdod near the Port of Ashdod. It plays an important role in the surveillance and blockade of the Gaza Strip, as well as in protecting the Port of Ashdod.

## History
### Establishment

The construction of the permanent camp in the south of the port began in 1965. A temporary base was established in the port within a day. Lt. Col. Yekutiel Netz was appointed as the commander of the base.

### Six Day War

Amphibious warfare ships in preparation for the landing operation at El Arish beach were stationed there. During the Six Day War and after it, ships from the 914th Torpedo Squadron were attached to floats and received fuel and supplies from the base.

#### War of Attrition

During the War of Attrition, the Israeli warships engaged with an Egyptian destroyer, sinking the destroyer in about 25 minutes. This incident came to be known as Battle of Romani. The Israeli warships were directed from this base.

### Inauguration

The inauguration of the permanent camp of the Navy base in Ashdod was held on 12 August 1968. The commander of the navy stated "the new base of the navy in Ashdod is a key to maintaining the ongoing security and sovereignty of Israel along the southern coasts from North Sinai to the entrances of Port Said".

### Yom Kippur War

The Battle of Baltim was fought between the Israeli Navy and the Egyptian Navy on 8–9 October 1973, during the Yom Kippur War between Baltim and Damietta. The Israeli warships that participated in the battle were stationed and co-ordinated from this base.

### Relocation attempts

In the early 1980s, Defense Minister Ariel Sharon wanted to bring the Navy closer to Gaza to save sailing time by moving the base to the city of Ashkelon. The mayor of Ashdod, Zvi Zilkar, strongly opposed this, partly and the plan was ultimately cancelled.

### Aftermath of the First Intifada

After the First Intifada and the creation of a Palestinian Authority in Gaza strip, five patrols boats were organised for regular patrols which number grew to be seven patrol boats.

#### Disengagement from Gaza

During the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, the base served as a major evacuation and transport hub for the evacuation of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel from Gaza strip.

### 2006 Gaza–Israel conflict

During the Operation Summer Rains on 26 June, the Israeli Navy imposed a naval closure of the Gaza Strip, to prevent the hostage Gilad Shalit being smuggled out by sea by the Palestinian militants. The navy increased patrols of naval vessels along the Gaza coastline, and prepared for an attempt to smuggle Shalit out by boat, sending instructions to captains. Palestinian fast boats were banned from operating in the area, and only small Palestinian fishing boats were allowed on the sea. These patrols were organised from this base.

### Blockade of the Gaza Strip

The Blockade of the Gaza Strip starting in 2007 was organised from this base.

### Operation Cast Lead

During the Gaza War (2008–2009) the Israeli Navy attacked Hamas' rocket launchers and outposts, command and control centers, a Hamas patrol boat, and the office of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, using the Typhoon Weapon System and surface to surface missiles. The navy coordinated with other Israeli forces and used powerful shipboard sensors to acquire and shell targets on land. Records of the attacks published by the navy indicate that for the first time vessels were equipped with Spike ER electro-optically guided anti-armor missiles. Videos of an attack showed precision hits from a Typhoon stabilizing gun despite a rolling sea. Versions of the Spike were also used by ground units and possibly by helicopters or unmanned aerial vehicles. Shayetet 13 naval commandos were also deployed to attack targets on land, and reportedly attacked an Iranian ship loaded with arms for Hamas, which was docking in Sudan. On 28 December, Naval vessels shelled the Port of Gaza.
On 29 December, the Free Gaza Movement relief boat Dignity carrying volunteer doctors with 3.5 tons of medical supplies, human rights activists (Among them Caoimhe Butterly and former US Representative Cynthia McKinney), and a CNN reporter was involved in an altercation with Israeli patrol boats. The captain of the Free Gaza vessel said that their vessel had been rammed intentionally and that there had been no warning before it had been rammed. An Israeli spokesman disputed this, and said the collision was caused by the Dignity attempting to outmaneuver the patrol boats after disobeying Israeli orders to turn back.
On 4 January the Israeli Navy extended its blockade of the Gaza Strip to 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi).
Naval squadrons during the Operation Warm Winter were also coordinated from here.
Throughout the war, the Israeli Navy employed Sa'ar 4.5-class missile boats of the flotilla in addition to Super Dvora Mk III-class patrol boats which were coordinated from this base.

### May 2010 Gaza flotilla raid

On 31 May 2010, the Israeli Navy seized an aid convoy of six ships known as the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla". aiming to break through the blockade, carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials. The flotilla had declined an Israeli request to change course to the Ashdod base, where the Israeli government had said it would inspect the aid and deliver (or let humanitarian organizations deliver) Israeli-approved items to Gaza.
Israeli Shayetet 13 naval commandos boarded the ships from speedboats and helicopters launched from three missile ships, while the flotilla was still in international waters. On the MV Mavi Marmara, the main ship of the convoy, passengers attacked and managed to capture three soldiers. Israeli soldiers responded with rubber bullets and live ammunition from soldiers in helicopters and on the ship. Several of the activists were shot in the head by Israeli forces, some from behind and at close range. Israel was accused of using disproportionate force. On other ships, soldiers were met with passive resistance which was easily suppressed with non-lethal techniques. Nine passengers were killed and dozens wounded. Nine soldiers were also injured, two of them seriously. All of the ships were seized and towed to Ashdod, while passengers were imprisoned in Israel and then deported to their home countries. The MV Rachel Corrie, a seventh ship that had been delayed, set sail from Malta on the same day of the flotilla's interception. Israeli naval vessels shadowed the Rachel Corrie, and after it ignored three warnings, Israeli commandos boarded the ship from speedboats, arrested the crew, and forced it to sail to Ashdod.

### Freedom Flotilla II

Following the Gaza flotilla raid, a coalition of 22 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) assembled in July 2011 a flotilla of 10 vessels and 1,000 activists to breach the blockade.
The vessels docked in Greece in preparation for the journey to Gaza. However, the Greek government announced that it would not allow the vessels to leave for Gaza, and the Hellenic Coast Guard stopped three vessels attempting to evade the travel ban and leave port. On 7 July, most activists left for home, leaving only a few dozen to continue the initiative. On 16 July, the French yacht Dignite Al Karama was allowed to leave port after informing Greek authorities that its destination was Alexandria, Egypt. Instead, the yacht headed directly for Gaza. The Israeli Navy stopped the Dignite Al Karama about 65 kilometres (40 mi) off Gaza. After the boat was warned and refused to turn back, it was surrounded by three Israeli naval vessels and boarded by Shayetet 13 commandos, who took it over. The boat was then taken to Ashdod base. Ultimately, the Freedom Flotilla sailing did not take place.

### Third Gaza Flotilla

On 4 November 2011, the Israeli Navy intercepted two vessels heading towards Gaza in a private initiative to break the blockade. Shayetet 13 commandos boarded the vessels from speedboats and took them over with no resistance. The vessels were then taken to Ashdod base.

### Operation Iron Law

During the Victoria Affair, the ship Victoria was seized about 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) from the Israeli coast, while on its way from Turkey to El-Arish port in Egypt (other sources give the destination as Alexandria, Egypt). According to the IDF, the ship picked up the cargo in the Port of Latakia in Syria and sailed to Mersin, Turkey. The ship was intercepted by Israeli Navy missile ships, which radioed the captain and questioned him about his point of origin and planned destination, then informed him that his ship was suspected of carrying illegal cargo, and requested permission to board for an inspection. The captain agreed, and ordered the vessel stopped. Several minutes later, speedboats carrying commandos from Israel's elite naval unit, Shayetet 13, pulled alongside the ship. A ladder was dropped for them to climb aboard. The commandos boarded with their weapons at the ready out of concern that there could be Iranian or Hamas operatives on board. The commandos ordered the crew to assemble on the bridge, and then began inspecting the cargo. The IDF said the ship's crew was unaware it was carrying concealed weapons. The ship was redirected to the Ashdod base for further inspection. After the contraband was unloaded, Israel announced it would release the Victoria and allowed it to continue its journey to the Egyptian port of Alexandria.

### Operation Protective Edge

During the 2014 Gaza War, Shayetet 3 off-shore fleet fired 3,494 naval shells, into the Gaza Strip which was coordinated from this base.

### Gaza war

During the Gaza war, an estimated 35 fighters of Hamas' Nukhba unit were observed crossing into Israeli waters from the Gaza fishing zone during the Zikim attack. Col. Eitan Paz, commander of the Ashdod naval base, having been forewarned of the invasion by Gaza Division commander Avi Rosenfeld earlier in the morning, immediately ordered the forces under his command to defend the Israeli maritime border and prevent raids on the coast.
Israeli sources stated that three of the boats were destroyed by patrol boats of the Israeli Navy's 916th Patrol Squadron from Ashdod naval base before they reached the shore, and sailors of the Snapir unit, the Israeli Navy's protection and harbor security unit, subsequently moved in on Defender-class boats and killed the survivors as well as Hamas divers they discovered with gunfire and depth charges. However, the remaining boat soon made it to Zikim beach.

## Shayetet 11

In May 2022 it was announced that the Navy decided to re-establish Shayetet 11, following this the IDF purchased two LSV vessels which will be used by the Israeli Navy to conduct amphibious landings as well as to transport supplies.
The flotilla is operated from Ashdod Naval Base. The first amphibious vehicle, INS Nachshon , was delivered to the Navy in August 2023. The second landing vessel, INS Kommiat , arrived in Israel in June 2024.

## 916th Patrol Squadron

Patrol Squadron 916 is based in Ashdod base and its role is to provide mutual security - to continuously protect the country's maritime borders.The squadron operates Super Dvora Mk II-class patrol boats, Shaldag-class patrol boats and Unmanned surface vehicles.
The ships of the voyage are divided between four cruises, the Bezeq cruise, the Kasif cruise, the Trigon cruise, and the Shark cruise . Each cruise is commanded by naval officers with the rank of captain/major, a qualified vessel commander.
It has a subunit called the 'Snapir unit' with the task of ensuring the security of the base.

## Commanders

Ashdod base commanders :
| name | command period | Development and special events |
| Yokutiel Netz | May July 1967 | Establishment |
| Baruch Brushi | August 1967 – September 1969 | War of Attrition |
| Michael Barkai | September 1969 – August 1971 | |
| Dov Ram | August 1971 – March 1973 | |
| Eitan Lipschitz | March 1973 – March 1974 | Yom Kippur War |
| Joseph Elder | March 1974 – September 1976 | |
| Mousa Levy | September 1976 – December 1978 | |
| Arya Marmari | December 1978 – July 1979 | |
| Abraham Ashur | July 1979 – July 1982 | |
| Ami Elon | July 1982 – September 1984 | |
| Alex Tal | September 1984 – July 1987 | |
| Uzi Livnat | July 1987 – July 1989 | |
| Yossi Levi | July 1989 – May 1990 | |
| Haim Gaesh | May 1990 - July 1992 | |
| Cypress tree | July 1992 – August 1994 | |
| Nir Maor | August 1994 – September 1996 | |
| Zev Yanovsky | September 1996 – November 1998 | |
| Slomo Frommer | November 1998 – March 2001 | |
| Daniel Maoz | March 2001 – February 2003 | |
| Menachem Levi | February 2003 – September 2005 | |
| Yoram Lex | September 2005 – August 2008 | Operation Summer Rains and Operation Warm Winter |
| Yaron Levy | August 2008 – February 2010 | Operation Cast Lead |
| David Sa'ar Selma | February 2010 – August 2011 | |
| Dror Friedman | August 2011 – March 2014 | |
| Ido Ben-Moshe | March 2014-April 2016 | |
| Guy Goldferb | April 2016 – July 2017 | |
| Yoval Eilon | July 2017 – September 2019 | |
| Amir Gutman | September 2019 – September 2021 | |
| Eli Sohulitsky | September 2021 – August 2023 | |
| Eitan Paz | August 2023 – Present | |