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Israeli military calls up reserves for surprise drill

The large-scale drill is designed to observe how the reservists' call-up procedures work.

By Ed Adamczyk
Israeli soldiers, waiting for orders to enter the Gaza Strip, are pictured waiting in Merkava tanks, along the border between Israel and Gaza last year. File Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI
Israeli soldiers, waiting for orders to enter the Gaza Strip, are pictured waiting in Merkava tanks, along the border between Israel and Gaza last year. File Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo

TEL AVIV , Israel, July 27 (UPI) -- The Israel Defense Force began a surprise three-day drill to test its readiness Monday, with thousands of reservists ordered to local bases.

Hundreds of thousands more received telephone calls to confirm the call-up system was operational.

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Territorial commands in northern and southern Israel began drills simulating attacks from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria; the Israeli Navy will conduct infrastructure tests; and the Israeli Air Force placed its bases in emergency mode and began assembling intelligence data into airstrike locations.

"This is one of the largest reservist telephone call-ups we've had in an exercise," an unidentified senior military source told the Jerusalem Post. "We want to ensure that the system is well-oiled and working. This is part of the planned graph of exercises for this year. It is part of our activities linked to working on our readiness. For the first time, cyber defenses will be a part of a general staff exercise."

Mock disaster drills are scheduled, and the Israeli citizenry was advised to expect increased military traffic around Tel Aviv's transportation centers.

"We are simulating readiness and immediate mobilization, to maintain our operational capabilities, so that in a real situation, we will function in the best possible way to save lives," said Reserves Maj. Dudi Mizrahi.

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