With tension rising in north, IDF launches surprise drill

One full division and some 2,000 reserve soldiers called up to prepare for potential threats from Lebanon, Syria

Soldiers during a surprise drill in the Golan Heights in September 2012. (photo credit: Shay Wagner/IDF/Flash90)
Soldiers during a surprise drill in the Golan Heights in September 2012. (photo credit: Shay Wagner/IDF/Flash90)

The IDF launched a surprise military exercise on Tuesday, calling up a full division and some 2,000 reserve soldiers to a drill in the northern part of the country.

The decision to launch the drill was reportedly based on the  threats to Israel’s security along its northern border from both Syria and Lebanon.

Israel has expressed worry over the Syrian civil war spilling into Israel and the possibility of Damascus’s large supply of chemical weapons being turned against the Jewish state.

Israel is also concerned over the possibility that the Lebanese-based terror group Hezbollah would come into possession of Syria’s chemical weapons.

On Thursday, Israeli planes shot down a drone off the coast of Haifa, thought to be sent by Hezbollah, possibly at Iran’s behest.

The exercise will continue until the end of the week, with some 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers taking part.

The army previously called a surprise drill in the north in September 2012.

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