Israel’s Shin Bet chief has warned that armed networks in the Negev are attempting to form military-style battalions, with some suspected of maintaining ties to Hamas, raising fears of a growing security threat inside southern Israel.
The six new bases represent the largest expansion of the IDF’s base network in decades.
Field tests conducted at the Tze’elim Training Base in February 2026 recorded an average 1.8°C reduction in soldiers’ core body temperature during prolonged exertion.
The land being vacated is among the most valuable in Israel.
Military applications will play a significant role: intelligence gathering, missile‑warning systems, encrypted communications, and precision targeting.
The proposed base is set to be located near the Negev Desert, with initial estimates suggesting an investment of around $1 billion.
Over 25 drone flights each carrying four machine guns are made nightly.
Training takes place in a sprawling mock Arab town in the Negev desert complete with mosques, markets and apartment blocks.
For decades, the IDF’s core infrastructure has been concentrated in the central Gush Dan region.
Thousands of bullets, a MAG machine gun, and additional weapons have been recovered.
Three soldiers were moderately wounded, and seven sustained light injuries after a weapon exploded during an exercise at the Engineering Corps Training Base in the Negev.
The Russian-made anti-aircraft missile was launched from Homs in southern Syria and traveled nearly 415 kilometers (257 miles), before exploding over Rahat.
‘Residents of Jenin, Allah is on your side,’ one soldier says, while others giggle in the background, in clip released shortly after seven troops were seriously wounded in a raid.
