IDF launches surprise drills in northern Israel after killing Hezbollah’s military chief
The IDF has heightened the alert level of its forces on the Lebanon border over concerns that Hezbollah could exploit winter weather and reduced visibility.
The IDF launched a surprise drill near the Lebanon border in Israel’s North on Monday, a day after the IDF assassinated Hezbollah’s chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, the military announced.
Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s second in command, was killed in a strike on Beirut. Before his death, he was responsible for heading Hezbollah’s military apparatus.
Alongside the drill, the IDF has heightened the alert level of its forces on the Lebanon border over concerns that Hezbollah could exploit winter weather and reduced visibility caused by fog and heavy rain to carry out an attack.
“The General Staff drill ‘Shield and Might’ began today, Monday, in the early morning hours and will continue over the next two days. The purpose of the drill is to examine and improve the IDF’s readiness for a variety of scenarios while training the headquarters,” the IDF spokesperson’s office said.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir seen at the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, in Jerusalem’s Old City (credit: CHAIM GOLDBEG/FLASH90)
Eyal Zamir orders surprise IDF readiness drill
The IDF highlighted, “Under the instruction of the IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, the drill opened with the activation of a chief of staff test in a surprise format to examine the readiness of Division 210 for a sudden erupting incident”.
The IDF spokesperson’s Unit warned that during the drill, intensive troop movement will be felt in the Golan and surrounding areas. Residents may hear the sounds of explosions, aircraft, and other aerial equipment.
