A week-long national military drill was launched Sunday morning by Israel’s Home Front Command, together with RAHEL, the National Emergency Authority, to test the IDF’s ability to contend with a large-scale war with Lebanon’s Iranian proxy, Hezbollah.
The five-day exercise will include a new Red Alert system for residents of northern Israel, and scenarios with civilians being evacuated from communities located within the five-kilometer zone along the Lebanese border, who will be absorbed in communities located farther away.
The exercise will also test Israel’s response to the likely use of biowarfare by Hezbollah.
Another scenario will involve a missile strike on an industrial plant containing hazardous materials, in which a container with hazardous material is struck. Forces will have to contain the leak and care for the injured. This drill will take place at the Milotel factory in the Leiman Industrial Zone in Nahariya.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has in the past threatened to strike the ammonia plants in Haifa and similar sites.
On Sunday – the first day of the drill – a scenario aimed at improving the skills of Israel Police simulated anti-Israeli Arab riots on multiple fronts, similar to the riots that took place in mixed Jewish-Arab cities during the 11-day war in May with Hamas in Gaza.
The drill is also intended to test Israel’s response to a daily barrage of some 2,000 rockets fired by Hezbollah – which currently has an arsenal of some 100,000 rockets of varying ranges and strengths – and days-long power outages.
The new alert times on the incoming rocket alert sirens will be tested on Wednesday in communities throughout the country, as will the emergency notification application.
The Home Front Command’s Civil Aid logistics battalion, which provides resources and supplies, will also be tested on its ability to support civilians who are stuck for long periods in their bomb shelters and other safe spaces.
During the exercise the IDF will incorporate lessons learned from the various prior conflicts with Hezbollah as well as the knowledge gleaned from the recent mini-war with Gaza’s ruling Hamas terror organization, also backed by Iran.
The IDF’s Home Front Command “carried out a very significant learning process with a lot of research and this exercise is going to test what we’ve learned,” Home Front Command Chief of Staff Brig-Gen Itzik Bar told reporters.
“This exercise is also a great opportunity for all government ministries to understand the implications, starting with disruptions in the energy sector; we are talking about 24-hour power outages across the country, 72 hours in localized communities, and other such aspects in terms of continual functioning,” he said.
Israel Police, Magen David Adom, all security agencies and most government ministries are also taking part in the drill, which continues through Thursday.