The IDF’s 80th Division began Operation Kadmat Homa (Advancing the Wall) near Eilat and the surrounding areas, the IDF reported Monday.
The third anniversary of the October 7 massacre will take place next month.
The aim of the exercise is to improve the division’s capabilities and readiness in the face of a large-scale October 7-style surprise attack, based on the lessons drawn from the massacre, the IDF said.
All of the division’s forces were slated to participate in the exercise, including air, naval, and additional security forces. The IDF cited a noticeable increase in the movement of security personnel, aircraft, naval vessels, and vehicles in the Eilat area and along Israel’s eastern border. No security incident was taking place, it said.
The Israel Police said it was participating in the security exercise under the name Operation Southern Wind, led by the Israel Police’s Southern District under the command of Southern District Police Cmdr. Haim Bublil and District Cmdr. Alon Kalfon.
Police from the Eilat district and the nearby region were to be operating alongside security and emergency services.
As part of the exercise, the forces will practice responding to a range of complex and extreme scenarios modeled after October 7, including responding to a surprise attack, developing security incidents, multiple simultaneous scenes, controlling traffic routes, maintaining public order, and providing a rapid, coordinated response.
Operation Dawn 2.0
Both Advancing the Wall and Southern Wind come on the tail end of the IDF’s announcement of Operation Dawn 2.0 on Sunday.
Under the command of IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, Operation Dawn 2.0 was a surprise exercise meant to test the heat-of-the-moment readiness and abilities of the military to deal with large-scale attacks amid the country’s preparations to strengthen defense ahead of the High Holy Days.
As part of the exercise, surprise scenarios and multi-scene events will be practiced in all possible “theaters of war,” the IDF said. Commanders from all IDF units were called up, forces were mobilized, and the military’s reserve capabilities were being assessed, it said.