Amid rising tensions with Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Defense Ministry's National Emergency Management Authority launched a huge, week-long drill on Sunday, simulating a full-scale war with the terror group.
The exercise commenced on Sunday and was scheduled to last through Thursday. It will simulate a large-scale war in which civilians are evacuated from northern border communities and security agencies will manage massive rocket barrages sent by Hezbollah. According to media reports, IDF is preparing for approximately 2,000 rockets, that are going to be fired by Hezbollah per day in the simulated war.
What's the Main Purpose of This Exercise?
The main purpose of the 'first of its kind' exercise is to analyze how well Israeli emergency response organizations like the military, police, fire department and emergency medical services — learned the lessons from the past events such as May 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis and from the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
According to Brig. Gen. Itzik Bar, chief of staff of the IDF Home Front Command, "We will test what we learned and experienced at levels I didn't anticipate in terms of the domestic front." He was speaking to journalists ahead of the exercise.
Bar also informed that the exercise will similarly simulate a major military conflict during a time of internal division, with large riots taking place in mixed Arab-Jewish cities.
Preparations for a Large-Scale War
As reported by The Times of Israel, the exercise will envisage the results of massive rocket and missile barrages at Israel, based on actual Military Intelligence predictions, including chemical weapons attacks, direct hits on toxic chemical storage facilities within Israel, overwhelmed hospitals, and nationwide power outages.
The drill will also concentrate on a new alert system for residents of northern Israel. It will take into account the rate of fire and the ability of Hezbollah to fire precision missiles and massive barrages toward specific areas – especially communities near the border fence, reported The Jerusalem Post. Both rocket and cyberattacks will be drilled as they can "create serious disruptions."
Israel's Surprise Drill Near Lebanon Border
This comes after Israel's air force conducted a surprise drill near Lebanon border. This exercise was intended to improve combat readiness along the United Nations-demarcated Blue Line between it and Lebanon, according to its military.
The military said on Monday that the drill would result in increased air traffic throughout the country and that explosions may be heard in northern Israel.
Israeli military exercise comes amid intensified attacks in neighboring Syria targeting Iranian military assets.
