Israeli army stages Lebanon attack simulation

In recent weeks, the Israeli army’s 146th Division and the 205th Reserve Armored Brigade held a divisional and brigade exercise simulating “a maneuver in Lebanon,” the Israeli army said on Monday.

“The exercise simulated combat scenarios in the northern arena, the rapid deployment of forces in the field, the functioning of the division and brigade headquarters and the readiness of the forces for an attack,” the Israeli army said in a statement.

The exercises were carried out in a terrain that “simulates as much as possible the fighting in the depths of Lebanon,” the statement added.

In recent weeks Hezbollah has stepped up its cross-border attacks on Israel, which it says are in support of Gazans and its ally Hamas, while Israel has struck deeper into Lebanese territory.

The violence, which started on October 8, has killed at least 440 people in Lebanon, mostly militants but also including 84 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

Israel says 14 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed on its side of the border.