Israel Performs Nation-Wide Drill to Prepare for 3-Front War

Times of Israel: Rocket sirens sound across country in civil defense drill http://t.co/c37JbIWYXr pic.twitter.com/ckcWigIxtO

— The Israel Project (@israelproject) June 2, 2015

The Times of Israel reports:

Turning Point 15 will test the preparedness of the country to deal with a massive coordinated rocket attack on population centers across Israel, including damage to essential infrastructure, as well as a cyber attack that brings down the electrical and telephone grids.

It is expected to last five days.

On Tuesday, two rocket sirens will ring out in cities across the country — at 11:05 a.m. and 7:05 p.m. — and people will be asked to rush to bomb shelters in a test of their ability to seek cover in case of rocket attack.

Sirens, however, will not sound near the Gaza Strip after residents, scarred by last summer’s war, asked to be excluded.

These drills are run on an annual basis by the nation’s Home Front Command. Simulating simultaneous attacks from Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, local, regional and national emergency services will be involved. Home Front Command will also test a new service that will inform residents of rocket attacks via text message.

The week-long drills are a sobering reminder of last summer’s war with Hamas in Gaza. Last week a Grad missile landed near Ashdod, catching many residents still shell shocked by last year’s war off guard. The missile was later attributed to infighting between Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Anticipation of another conflict this year runs high on Israeli social media, and while the official line is that there is “no imminent threat of war,”

…military officials have warned that both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza have rearmed to prepare for possible future conflicts with Israel, including stockpiling thousands of missiles — in Hezbollah’s case hundreds of thousands — including many that can hit Tel Aviv, and rebuilding other infrastructure, including tunnels.

Commenting on the drill, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “When it comes to Israel’s security, I rely only on ourselves.”