A business owner in the south: "A company commander approached me and asked me to donate old equipment. They spend so much money on security and in the end something so basic is missing".
Reserve officers and soldiers who have captured buildings in the Gaza Strip are paying out of pocket and seeking donations to install security cameras around buildings - so they can see from inside if a terrorist is approaching or emerging from a tunnel. This was reported yesterday (Monday) on the "At Noon" program on Kan Reshet B.
Some of the requests for donations also reached a business owner from the south: "A company commander approached me and asked me to donate old equipment to them. I asked him if there was a need, why doesn't the army purchase for the soldiers, he told me 'There are no budgets. It's not that they don't give us money, there are drones. But something so basic like cameras, to secure the house from the moment it's captured - there isn't.' This really bothered me, they spend so much money on security and in the end something so basic costing 2,000 - 3,000 shekels they don't have."
The business owner continued, "They also don't have a response to characterize this thing. They need an advisor to professionally characterize it. Sometimes it gives false security - relying on a system that gives a sense of security and as a result you lower your alertness. Sometimes it's worse than managing without it and therefore it needs to be done professionally and not haphazardly."
After the ground entry into Gaza, a reserve tank soldier told Kan News that they're spending money out of pocket and installing cameras around the tanks themselves, so they can see if terrorists are approaching with explosives. According to the reservist, "This saves lives, and we're doing everything ourselves. Both the purchase and the installation - with donations." This issue is also familiar to the business owner from the south: "There's such a large security budget, I pay taxes, my employee was drafted for half a year and I worked in his place, and such basic things they don't have."
The IDF responded: "The incident is under investigation. The introduction of civilian cameras without coordination and control into the Gaza Strip is forbidden and endangers the security of our forces."
