Eilat Naval Base

Eilat Naval Base is a major Israeli naval base situated in the Israeli coastal city of Eilat. It was established in 1949 and serves to be the sole Israeli Navy Base on the coast of Red Sea.

Roles
The main task of the base in Eilat is to maintain the security and peace of Eilat. The main activity in the city of Eilat is based on recreation and tourism, which include, among other things, about two hundred vessels moving in a relatively small maritime region.

In the past this area was a meeting area between four conflicting countries: Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. However, today all the 4 countries are at peace.

At the base operates the Patrol Squadron 915, which operates  the Dvora-class fast patrol boats and Super Dvora Mk III-class patrol boats.

Eilat Naval Shipyard is also under the security from the base.

Establishment
The base was established in 1949 after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war to serve as a naval base at the point of junction with three hostile states.

Six Day War
During the Six-Day War, the base played a vital role in the capture and occupation of Sharm El Sheikh. On 7 June, Israel began its attack on Sharm el-Sheikh. The Israeli Navy started the operation with a probe of Egyptian naval defences. An aerial reconnaissance flight found that the area was less defended than originally thought. At about 4:30 am, three Israeli missile boats opened fire on Egyptian shore batteries, while paratroopers and commandos boarded helicopters and Nord Noratlas transport planes for an assault on Al-Tur, as Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin was convinced it was too risky to land them directly in Sharm el-Sheikh. However, the city had been largely abandoned the day before, and reports from air and naval forces finally convinced Rabin to divert the aircraft to Sharm el-Sheikh. There, the Israelis engaged in a pitched battle with the Egyptians and took the city, killing 20 Egyptian soldiers and taking eight more prisoners. At 12:15 pm, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan announced that the Straits of Tiran constituted an international waterway open to all ships without restriction. The entire operation was carried out from this base.

Ammunition truck disaster
On January 24, 1970, at the Eilat base, a truck loaded with ammunition exploded. As a result of the explosion, 24 people were killed, 17 of them on the spot, and seven died of their wounds in the days after the explosion, and dozens were injured.

Operation Green light
The base was set to co-ordinate the Operation Green Light which was to carry out an amphibious landing on Egyptian Red Sea coast but the operation was aborted mid way.

Gaesh rescue mission
In 1981, the shipyard repaired the hull of INS Gaesh, after the unwanted beaching on the Saudi Arabian coast. The activity included salvage and refloating from the Saudi coast, towing to the Eilat Naval Base, shipping and repair to an operational condition.

Evacuation plans
From the late 1990s, discussions began on the evacuation of the naval base in Eilat, in favor of the establishment of tourist projects and the further development of the Eilat beach strip towards the south. However, the realization of the project did not come to fruition for many years. In 1996, the Ministry of Defense and the Navy Headquarters decided to close the Navy shipyard in Eilat. In the area of the shipyard, planning has begun for the establishment of tourist projects. But in May 1997, the Minister of Defense, Yitzhak Mordechai, decided not to close the base.

At the end of 2002, a plan was drafted according to which the Ports Authority will manage a project that includes the expansion of the Eilat port and the relocation of the Eilat base into it. In March 2003, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Ports Authority and the Eilat Municipality agreed that the Navy base would be moved to Eilat Port and the area would be available for development. But the project did not go ahead, due to a dispute over the financing of the plan.

Operation Full Disclosure
Operation Full Disclosure was a military operation carried out by the IDF on March 5, 2014, in the Red Sea. After days of surveillance far out to sea, Israeli Navy Shayetet 13 commandos seized the Iranian-owned and Panamanian-registered merchant vessel Klos C that had set sail from Iran, heading for Port Sudan via Iraq. On board, the commandos found long-range missiles suspected to be destined for the Gaza Strip concealed in containers full of Iranian bags marked as Portland cement. The operation was carried out from this base.

Red Sea crisis
The Red Sea crisis began on 17 October 2023. On 27 October 2023 two loitering munitions were fired by Houthi militants in a northerly direction from the southern Red Sea. According to IDF officials, their target was Israel, but they did not cross the border from Egypt. Of the two drones, one fell short and hit a building adjacent to a hospital in Taba, Egypt, injuring six; the other was shot down near an electricity plant close to the town of Nuweiba, Egypt. A Houthi official later made a one-word post on Twitter after the drone crashed in Taba, mentioning Eilat.

On 31 October an alert was triggered in Eilat, Eilot kibbutz and the Shahorit industrial park area regarding the penetration of hostile aircraft from the Red Sea. The aircraft was successfully intercepted over the Red Sea. The Arrow system intercepted a ballistic missile and the Israeli Air Force intercepted several cruise missiles fired from the Red Sea toward Eilat. The Houthis took responsibility for the launches.

On 1 November at 00:45 the IDF intercepted an air threat fired from Yemen and identified south of Eilat. On 9 November, the Houthis fired a missile toward the city of Eilat. On 14 November the Houthis fired numerous missiles, one of which was aimed toward the city of Eilat. The missile was intercepted by an Arrow missile according to Israeli officials. On 22 November, the Houthis fired a cruise missile aimed toward the city of Eilat. Israeli officials said the missile was successfully intercepted.

On 6 December 2023, the Houthi movement launched several ballistic missiles at Israeli military posts in Eilat including this base. By 21 December, the Port of Eilat, which gives Israel via the Red Sea its only easy shipping access to Asia without the need to transit the Suez Canal, had seen an 85% drop in activity due to the Houthi action.

On 2 February 2024, the Houthis claimed that they had fired a ballistic missile towards Eilat. The IDF also said that the Arrow defense system intercepted a missile over the Red Sea.

On 18 March, Yemeni Houthis launched a cruise missile that successfully struck Israel, reportedly hitting an open area north of Eilat. Israel stated there was no damage or injuries caused. On 21 March, IDF also announced on the same day that it intercepted a "suspicious aerial target" approaching Israeli territory over the Red Sea.

On 9 April, the IDF used a seaborne missile from INS Magen to shoot down a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the first time. The UAV, which came from the Red Sea, breached Israeli airspace and crossed into the area of the Gulf of Aqaba, setting off sirens in Eilat.

On 3 June, the IDF's Arrow defense system intercepted a surface-to-air missile aimed at Eilat from the direction of the Red Sea.

IRI attacks
On 3 November 2023 Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Eilat. On 12 November the IRI claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Eilat.

On 31 December the IRI claimed a drone attack on Eilat.

On 28 January 2024 the IRI claimed a drone attack on Eilat.

On 1 April 2024, the IRI claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Eilat. The drone struck the base causing damage to a building and no casualties. Multiple strikes were reported on 9 April, 20 April, 7 May, 20 May, 23 May, and 27 May.

2024 Iran-Israel conflict
During the 2024 Iran-Israel conflict, the base was put at high alert and Shayetet 3 ships were stationed there, which neutralized some aerial threats during the 2024 Iranian strikes on Israel.

915th Patrol Squadron
The squadron is divided into two units, the vessel fighters, who make up the bulk of the force, and the fin fighters.

Vessel fighters
Objectives of vessel fighters are
 * Constant patrols in the seas of Israel.
 * Identification of watercraft entering Israeli waters.
 * Preventing smuggling through the sea
 * Protecting national assets, such as drilling rigs.
 * Various operations carried out alone, or with other units in and outside of the navy.

Fin fighters
The objective of Fin fighters is the security of the base.

Sources & References

 * Zeev Fried, חיל הים כובש את מפרץ אילת, "Marine Systems" 11, December 1956, p. 54.
 * Orly Azoulai, בסיס אילת פנים רבות לו, 'Marine Systems' 111, March 1973, p. 30.
 * Batia Shem-El,	אמנים בבסיס אילת''',	'Between Waves', April 1974 p. 32.
 * Giorgio concocted,	על השקט בבריכה''',	'Between Waves' 164 February 1985, p. 21.
 * Aryeh Tal,	ספינות נאטו בסיס אילת''', "Between Waves", 8, May 2005 p. 10.
 * sapphire paid,	ים סוף למען הסביבה''',	"Between Waves", May 2017, p. 16.