The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday night completed a five-day intensive divisional exercise led by the 91st Division (aka the Galilee Formation) and the National Ground Training Center along the Lebanon border.
It was the military’s largest exercise since the start of the Swords of Iron war/War of Redemption on Oct. 7, 2023.
The drill was designed to prepare for “extreme defense scenarios,” ensure a rapid response to emerging incidents—including reserve troops mobilization and force buildup—and transition to offensive operations, all while applying lessons learned from two years of fighting across multiple arenas, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
The exercise entailed the integration of naval, aerial and ground forces, as well as coordination with local councils and other security and emergency forces such as the Israel Fire and Rescue Services, Magen David Adom and the Israel Police, the army added.
Additionally, logistics, medical and technology and maintenance units trained in scenarios involving the evacuation of injured troops under fire.
On Friday, the IDF targeted two Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon, killing at least one, according to the military.
The slain terrorist was Abbas Hassan Karky, the logistics commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front headquarters.
Karky was a relative of Ali Karki, the former commander of Southern Lebanon for the Islamist group, who was killed during the elimination of terror master Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Sept. 27, 2024.
Abbas led efforts to rebuild Hezbollah’s combat capabilities and assisted in the reestablishment of terrorist infrastructure that had been dismantled during the war, south of the Litani River, according to the Israeli army.
He was also responsible for reestablishing the organization’s force structure and for managing the transfer and storage of weapons in Southern Lebanon, the IDF added.
Karky’s “activities constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” said the military
The second Hezbollah terrorist was targeted in the area of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah. He was involved in efforts to reestablish Hezbollah’s military capabilities in Southern Lebanon, according to the IDF.
Israel and Lebanon signed a ceasefire that went into effect on Nov. 27, 2024, after much of Hezbollah’s capabilities were degraded by a series of effective and precise attacks of the IDF against the Iran-backed terrorist group.
The IDF has maintained it will continue to enforce the terms of the ceasefire, which forbid the presence of terrorists in Southern Lebanon.
