Amid tensions with Syria, IDF launches surprise drill in north

The IDF launched a massive surprise drill in the north of the country as tensions on the border with Syria run high.

By: World Israel News Staff

The IDF launched a massive surprise drill on Sunday in the Golan Heights as tensions on the border with Syria have increased dramatically.

An IDF spokesman announced that the drill will last several days, explosions will be heard and military traffic, including troops and hardware, will be visible.

The exercise also entails a broad call-up of IDF reserves.

The spokesman emphasized that the drill was planned ahead as part of the IDF’s annual training schedule. It is not a response to any specific event, he said.

The drill was launched as tensions on Israel’s border with Syria, adjacent to the Israeli Golan Heights, are the highest in decades.

Last month, Iran’s Quds forces launched a barrage of rockets at IDF bases on the Golan Heights in northern Israel, the first Iranian attack on Israeli soil in history.

Shortly after midnight, IDF defense systems identified approximately 20 rockets that the Iranian Quds forces had launched at IDF forward posts on the Golan Heights. The majority of the rockets missed their mark and fell in Syrian territory, while four were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

The assault prompted an extensive Israel Air Force (IAF) attack on dozens of Iranian targets in Syria.

As part of the wide-scale attack, said to be the largest since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the IAF struck Quds Force intelligence centers, Quds Force logistical command centers, a Quds Force military center and a Quds Force logistical center in Al-Kiswah, as well as an Iranian military base north of Damascus.

Both before the incident and afterwards, Israel attacked Iranian military targets within Syria.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, American Secretary of State Pompeo and several European leaders regarding Iran’s military buildup in Syria, which Israel considers to be a severe threat to its security.

Netanyahu is campaigning to have Iran removed completely from Syria.