The IDF on Monday announced it had launched a two-day surprise drill to “examine the Northern Command’s readiness and its operational capabilities,” as the Israeli army braces for an attack by Iran, possibly from Syria or Lebanon.
The IDF stated that this exercise is the second in a series of tests conducted by the Chief of Staff for 2019, and will be concluded by Chief of Staff, Major General Aviv Kochavi.
The exercise is taking place in the Jezreel Valley area and in the Upper Galilee and will be completed on Tuesday.
The drill will include “intense movement” of security forces, vehicles and aircraft, and alarms and explosions will be heard in the area, the IDF said.
Reserve forces will be called up as well.
The drill takes place as IDF forces are on high alert in expectation of a pending attack carried out by Iran against Israel.
Following the Iranian drone and cruise-missile attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields in September Israel has heightened its level of alert with an understanding that is may soon face a similar attack, which could spell massive casualties as well as a war in the Middle East.
Kochavi has warned in recent weeks that Israel is facing an imminent attack from Iran and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned last month that Iranian aggression in the Middle East is threatening Israel in a magnitude similar to the threats the country faced during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.