The Israeli Navy is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea theater as well as the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea theater. The current commander in chief of the Israeli Navy is Aluf David Saar Salama. The Israeli Navy is believed to be responsible for maintaining Israel's offshore nuclear second strike capability.
Sarah I, a 190-foot (57.9 m) four-masted schooner of 750 tons used as a training ship by the Betar Naval Academy.
INS Eilat, ex-Royal Navy Z-class destroyer sold to Israel in 1955
INS Gal at the Naval Museum, Haifa
Israeli missile boats on parade, 1971
The Israel Defense Forces, alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym Tzahal (צה״ל), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and the Israeli Navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security apparatus. The IDF is headed by the Chief of the General Staff, who is subordinate to the Israeli Defense Minister.
Major-Gen. Ariel Sharon (left), during the Battle of Abu-Ageila, June 1967
IDF Kirya Compound, Tel Aviv
Israeli officers of the Paratrooper Battalion 890 in 1955 with Moshe Dayan (standing, third from the left). Ariel Sharon is standing, second from the left and commando Meir Har Zion is standing furthest left.
Israeli soldiers coming back from the Second Lebanon war, armed with the M4 Carbine and the IMI Negev light machinegun