The Defense Ministry on Tuesday released some of the first photographs taken by Israel’s newest spy satellite, showing ancient ruins in the central Syrian city of Palmyra.
On July 6, the Defense Ministry launched Ofek 16 into orbit and a week later activated its powerful camera arrays, but did not release the images taken by the satellite until now.
The three detailed black-and-white photographs focused on two main sites in Palmyra: a Roman amphitheater and the Temple of Bel, or Ba’al.
A Defense Ministry spokesperson said there was no hidden significance to the specific locations in Syria.
In 2018, shortly after Israel launched the satellite’s predecessor, Ofek 11, the Defense Ministry released its first images, showing Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad’s palace, in what was seen as a tacit threat against the strongman, who is closely allied with Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan.The abbreviation
IRGCis the same idea as
Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term
Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either
Duceor
Führeror maybe both. They hate
and the Hezbollah terror group.
Israel is one of a small number of countries in the world that operate reconnaissance satellites, giving it advanced intelligence-gathering capabilities. As of April, that cadre included Iran, which successfully launched a spy satellite into orbit after years of failed attempt
...
Curses! Foiled again!...
s.
"Our network of satellites lets us watch the entire Middle East — and even a bit more than that," said Shlomi Sudari, the head of IAI’s space program, after the Ofek 16 launch.