Amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, the occupation army is seeking to bolster its wartime readiness.
The Hebrew newspaper Maariv revealed details of a military exercise conducted by the Israeli army simulating an Iranian attack involving 2,000 missiles striking urban centres inside the occupied territories.
The paper published a report under the headline, “2,000 Missiles on Israel: Fear of Heavy Iranian Bombardment on Israeli Population Centres”, stating that the Home Front Command carried out its largest recent drill, simulating the treatment and rescue of casualties at a large scale destruction site.
According to the report, hundreds of soldiers and commanders from the Rescue Brigade of the Home Front Command took part in the exercise, which was held at a facility inside a military base in Zikim, south of Tel Aviv. The scenario simulated a missile attack launched from Iran targeting a major population centre inside Israel.
The newspaper added that the drill began at approximately 2:00 am and involved training all operational and command frameworks of the Rescue Brigade, civilian rescue teams, and senior Home Front Command officers. The scenario included the collapse of buildings and towers and the occurrence of widespread destruction.
Preparing for the “Week of War”
Maariv further reported that the exercise simulated large scale structural collapses and extensive damage. The occupation army described it as the most significant drill conducted by the Home Front Command since the beginning of tensions with Iran.
The drill coincided with calls from Tel Aviv to ensure that Iranian missile capabilities and Iran’s support for organisations in the region are included in US Iranian talks, not solely the Iranian nuclear programme.
A military source within the occupation army stated, “This exercise is the final event of the ‘Week of War’, in which all fighters and commanders enrolled in leadership courses at the Home Front Command Rescue Brigade training base take part.”
The source added that authorities would need teams to manage care centres for thousands of Israelis at potential strike locations, alongside the provision of hotel accommodation to meet various needs, in preparation for scenarios of this kind, which differ significantly from isolated explosive incidents.
Iran Emerges with a Large Missile Arsenal
Assessments indicate that Iran is focusing on deploying air defence systems that were not damaged during the recent war, positioning them around Tehran and other areas considered highly strategic. Tehran is also working to enhance its ballistic missile launch capabilities.
According to estimates, Iran already possesses between 1,500 and 2,000 missiles. What distinguishes Iran, according to these assessments, is that it operates fewer than 100 launch platforms, with a large proportion of its missiles relying on liquid fuel.
This means that refuelling missiles takes a considerable amount of time, negatively affecting launch rates and leaving missiles vulnerable while positioned on the ground, according to the Hebrew newspaper.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran’s missile capabilities give Tehran the ability to strike targets spread across the Middle East, meaning that any potential American attack could quickly escalate into a wide ranging confrontation.
The newspaper added that Iran emerged from the war retaining a massive arsenal of thousands of ballistic missiles, providing it with significant capacity to inflict severe damage on the United States and its allies in the region.
