Israel Prepares For War On Six Fronts, Holds Emergency Drills, IDF Suspects Anti-Tank Missile Fired At Troops In IED Attack

Israel Holds Emergency Drills, Preparing for War on Six Fronts

Last week at the graduation ceremony for new Israeli naval officers, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Aviv Kochavi said that the Jewish state was preparing for war on no fewer than six fronts.

Kochavi did not list those fronts, except to say that Iran is among them. 

The others can be guessed at: Egyptian Sinai, where ISIS holds sway; Hamas-ruled Gaza; Lebanon; Syria; and the cyber realm.

Of course, many of those other threats are being encouraged and even financed by Iran.

This week, Israel launched massive war drills together with 2,500 visiting American soldiers.

As part of those drills, air raid sirens sounded throughout the country on Tuesday, unfortunately frightening those who were unaware it was just an exercise.

IDF suspects anti-tank missile also fired at troops in IED attack 

An initial investigation of Thursday morning’s attack on a military patrol outside the Gaza Strip revealed that in addition to the two improvised explosive devices detonated along the security fence, an anti-tank missile was also apparently fired at the troops, the army said.

The army described the early-morning attack as “very serious,” despite the fact that no soldiers were injured and no significant damage was caused to the vehicle.

The Israel Defense Forces had yet to determine which terror group was responsible for the attack, but was working to figure it out, army spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said.

The officer indicated that this attack appeared to be part of a growing trend by Palestinian terrorist groups, notably Gaza’s ruler Hamas, to use the regular riots and demonstrations that take place along the Gaza border as cover for military activities.

“We will not allow Hamas to turn the security fence into a combat zone,” Conricus told reporters.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the two IEDs were set off at approximately 6:00 a.m. inside Gaza, approximately 100 meters (328 feet) from the security fence, west of the Israeli community of Nahal Oz. The bombs were not detonated simultaneously, but with a delay of a few minutes.

The target of the attack was a group of soldiers traveling in an army vehicle as part of a “routine patrol” along the Israeli side of the Gaza border, Conricus said.

It was not yet known what type of charges were used in the attack. Few varieties of IEDs could cause damage from that distance, making their exact purpose unclear, Conricus said.

“One hundred meters is a significant distance. It’s not unheard of, but it is a large distance to try to hit a target,” he said.

The army was reviewing its security footage and collecting other evidence in order to determine if an anti-tank missile was also shot at the patrol, Conricus said.

It was unclear how the explosives had been set up along the security fence, though Conricus noted that Wednesday night was particularly foggy and that violent demonstrations had taken place in the area this week, both of which could have given cover for terrorists positioning the IEDs.