The drill was led by the Northern Command and covered the 91st Division (Galilee Division), the 366th Armored Division ("Path of Fire" Division), the regional divisions and brigades that carry out operational activity in the sector and other regular combat forces in the area. Intelligence, combat and gathering efforts were conducted throughout the drill.
Defense efforts in the area of the Galilee and Golan Heights and cooperation with local authorities and security officers in communities in the area were tested as well. The drill may have focused on training for the possibility of a widespread attack and infiltration by Hezbollah. A future conflict could involve Hezbollah trying to infiltrate into Israeli communities near the border.
Hezbollah’s “Conquer the Galilee” plan would have allowed the group’s elite Radwan fighters to infiltrate into Israel on land and by cross-border attack tunnels, fire short-range rocket and mortar fire and allow other Radwan fighters to infiltrate into communities via other tunnels, cut them off from the main roads and to kill as many civilians and troops as possible.
Thousands of rockets were expected to be launched towards the Jewish State by the Iranian-backed Shiite army within the first couple of hours of the conflict.
As part of readiness improvement and as the basis of the drill, all the officers holding the rank of company commander or higher in standard service in the Northern Command took part in a learning day at the beginning of the week. During the learning day, the commanders toured through different sectors and along the borders with Lebanon and Syria.
The goal of the learning day was to learn from the operational incidents that occurred in the northern front in the past few months and from the deep investigations that were held at all levels on the subject. Concentrated information was given to the commanders, and they were given the opportunity to become deeply familiar with the area.
Tensions have been high along the northern front in recent months. The IAF struck over 20 targets belonging to Iran and the Syrian regime in late November after four rockets were fired in Israel from Syria. In August, two explosive drones targeted Hezbollah facilities in Beirut. Hezbollah blamed the attack on Israel and later launched Kornet missiles towards an IDF vehicle near the border. Iranian influence in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq also poses a threat to Israeli security, with officials fearing attacks similar to the cruise missile and explosive drone attack carried out against the Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia.
The learning day and drill were part of the readiness plan for the 2019 and were significant milestones in preserving the readiness of the Northern Command for emergency situations and the competence of its units for war, according to the IDF Spokespersons' Unit.