Schools throughout Israel drill for rocket attack

Educational institutions throughout the country were set Tuesday to take part in a drill to practice responding to a rocket attack.

In some schools, exercises in search and rescue were also planned.

The exercises, involving the IDF’s Home Front Command, the Education Ministry and local authorities, come amid escalating tensions, as Israel and terrorists in Gaza continued to trade attacks and war with Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah seeming increasingly likely

Iranian-backed efforts to build military bases in Syria appeared to be continuing, despite denials from Tehran, as well as construction of missile production plants in Lebanon.

On February 10, the Iranians sent a drone into Israeli airspace, prompting Israel to attack Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria.

On Monday, a senior IDF general warned that the chances of war were higher than ever for 2018 in light of the battlefield victories in the Syrian civil war by the country’s dictator, Bashar Assad, and his allies Iran and Hezbollah.

“The year 2018 has the potential for escalation [of military conflict], not necessarily because either side wants to initiate it, but because of a gradual deterioration. This has led us to raise the level of preparedness,” Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, head of IDF Operations, told Army Radio in a rare interview.