A Look Inside ‘Mini Gaza,’ the IDF’s Urban Warfare Training Center: Photo Essay

The 60-acre site is so realistic, many scenes from the critically acclaimed Israeli TV show, Fauda were filmed here.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

The Israel Defense Forces’ Urban Warfare Training Center in southern Israel is also known as Mini Gaza.

The facility has more than 600 structures, ranging from eight-story buildings to shacks, schools, market places and more. The 60-acre site is so realistic, many scenes from the critically acclaimed Israeli TV show, Fauda were filmed here.

Since 2011, thousands of soldiers have gone through simulations of various urban combat scenarios to better prepare for operating in Judea and Samaria, Gaza and Lebanon.

Training includes distinguishing between terrorists and civilians, minimizing harm to non-combatants, situations where terrorists use civilians as human shields, and more.

Delegations of foreign soldiers, including from the U.S., have visited Mini Gaza for urban warfare training.

Photos by Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS

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