A Look Inside ‘Mini Gaza,’ the IDF’s Urban Warfare Training Center: Photo Essay

Mini Gaza
Mini Gaza (Photo by Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS)

The 60-acre site is so realistic, many scenes from the critically acclaimed Israeli TV show, Fauda were filmed here.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

The Israel Defense Forces’ Urban Warfare Training Center in southern Israel is also known as Mini Gaza.
IDF Urban Warfare Training Center

The facility has more than 600 structures, ranging from eight-story buildings to shacks, schools, market places and more. The 60-acre site is so realistic, many scenes from the critically acclaimed Israeli TV show, Fauda were filmed here.

IDF's Urban Warfare Training Center
Since 2011, thousands of soldiers have gone through simulations of various urban combat scenarios to better prepare for operating in Judea and Samaria, Gaza and Lebanon.

IDF's Urban Warfare Training Center

Training includes distinguishing between terrorists and civilians, minimizing harm to non-combatants, situations where terrorists use civilians as human shields, and more.

The IDF's Urban Warfare Training Center

Delegations of foreign soldiers, including from the U.S., have visited Mini Gaza for urban warfare training.

The IDF's Urban Warfare Training Center

Photos by Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS

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