IDF completes major West Bank drill, simulating ‘extreme’ scenarios based on October 7 lessons

The IDF has wrapped up a major drill held this week in the West Bank, involving both the Judea and Samaria Division and the newly established 96th “Gilad” Division, the latter of which is tasked with securing the Jordanian border.

The three-day exercise simulated some 40 “extreme” scenarios and also involved the Israeli Air Force with some 180 aircraft, the Technological and Logistics Directorate, other IDF units, as well as the Israel Police and Magen David Adom ambulance service, the military says.

It was the first-ever drill involving both of the Central Command’s regional divisions.

The IDF says that the scenarios practiced during the drill included attacks on army posts; terrorist infiltration into settlements at multiple locations simultaneously; terror attacks during the mobilization of the 96th Division’s volunteer reservist brigades; fighting in urban areas; rescuing trapped individuals; and responding to mass-causality incidents.

The drill also examined the implementation of the Central Command’s updated defensive and offensive plans, according to the IDF.

The military says the scenarios were practiced “based on the lessons learned from October 7,” including carrying out airstrikes to disrupt attacks at the earliest stages possible, based on the “importance of impact in the initial hours,” as well as activating standby troops, deploying special forces, and “readying the entire IDF system.”