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IDF wraps up training program preparing officers for war with Hezbollah

26 September 2019, 5:16 pm Edit

The Israel Defense Forces completes a week-long training program for its senior combat officers aimed at preparing them for a war against the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, providing them with the latest intelligence, fighting methods and operational plans.

This training session included simulating conquering a Lebanese village, operating inside a Lebanese town, thwarting Hezbollah ambushes and destroying the terror group’s rockets and launchers, the army says.

The Hezbollah terror group is seen by the IDF as one of its most formidable enemies, with an arsenal of rockets and missiles larger than that of most countries.

All IDF officers from combat units above the rank of lieutenant colonel participated in the event, the army says.

“The purpose of this session was to act as a base of knowledge for brigade and battalion commanders to train their soldiers in the most accurate and deadly way possible for possible fighting in Lebanon,” the military says.

The week-long training session was held at the IDF’s Elyakim base in northern Israel. It was run by the Northern Command’s 36th Division and the Golani Infantry Brigade.

For this program, the base’s shooting ranges were turned into stand-ins for a Lebanese village, complete with actors in costumes simulating residents.

In addition to conducting practical exercises, the participating officers also prepared to fight in Lebanon with advanced technology, including virtual reality headsets and large touch screens showing troop movements and battles.

Israel and Lebanon had a small taste of what a conflict between the two sides would look like last month, when there was a limited skirmish between the two sides along the Lebanese border in which the terror group fired anti-tank guided missiles at Israeli positions, causing no injuries, in response to an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian-controlled base in Syria several days before that killed two Hezbollah members.

— Judah Ari Gross

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