The Israeli Air Force launched a “surprise” exercise on Sunday designed to improve combat readiness in the country’s north, the Israeli military said on Monday.
The drill, called “Galilee Rose,” is expected to end on Wednesday and will simulate a number of scenarios involving a potential war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iranian assets or other enemy forces in Syria, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
“The exercise will examine planning and control and execution processes as well as end-to-end logistical and technological capabilities, with an emphasis on maintaining freedom of operation and full functional capability,” said the IDF.
The military also said that there would be “lively movement of aircraft, planes and helicopters throughout the country,” and that explosions would be heard in some locations.
On Monday morning, Syrian media reported that the IAF had attacked several targets in the Damascus area.
The attack follows a similar incident on Jan. 13 in which at least 23 Iranian and Syrian troops were killed in 18 strikes, including on weapons warehouses near the Iraqi-Syrian border. One week earlier, on Jan. 7, another series of alleged Israeli airstrikes were reported against targets south of Damascus, including a facility in the Syrian Golan Heights belonging to pro-Iranian militias.
