The Northern District Central Command lies deep underground and receives a significant amount of intelligence to direct and manage Israel Defense Forces operations in the north. It is led by Brigadier General (ret.) Benny Mehr. Israel Defense Forces have explored his command center to understand how the fight is being directed remotely, the military reported.
“What’s going on? From which direction did we attack?” the brigadier general asked, pointing to a screen in his command center. The IDF noticed this when they entered the command center.
Brigadier General Mehr is one of three responsible for directing the fighting on the northern front, which includes deciding on conducting targeted attacks, intercepting drones, coordinating combat soldiers and issuing orders. He said the pace is fast and it is sometimes difficult for him to keep up with everything that is happening.
Everything that happens in the north passes through this room. It is from here that orders are given to the soldiers. “Just as the heart pumps blood through the body, we pump orders throughout the entire northern sector,” Mehr explained. “Every immediate operational event that has taken place in the last 24 hours ends up in our hands.”
“The situation report on the deployment of the troops is constantly updated in the command center,” he explained. “Information is flowing to us from the field at all times. I give orders to the soldiers on this basis.”
Brigadier General’s Objectives
One of the Brigadier General’s goals is to streamline and improve battlefield operations based on lessons learned from past and combat operations.
“We realized that it would be beneficial to implement the lessons learned in the southern sector from the beginning of the operation,” the brigadier explained. “Together with the Southern Command, we held joint meetings to refine our war strategy.”
The command center is not limited to coordinating combat teams. Firefighters, the Home Front Command and the Shin Bet also play an important role in the work.
“They have a different perspective on the information,” he stressed, “which sheds light on areas where we may lack understanding.”
This room receives numerous reports every day. While previously the biggest challenge was finding information, at this point in the war it is completely different.
“Thanks to the advances in command and control systems over the past few years, we now have a wealth of information that was previously unavailable. Today, we can look through the data, identify the exact information and send it to the right place at the right time – all through intensive teamwork around the clock.”
