Gaza's drill – preparation for war or a PR stunt?

• Author: UDI SHAHAM
• Date: 29 December 2020
• Published date: 29 December 2020
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

It is rare when Gaza's different factions, which include Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and other groups, who usually train separately, decided in an "act of unity" to join together for the operation, which was named "a-Rukn a-Shadid," which means "the strong foundation" (an expression taken from the Qur'an).

This has come in the wake of the establishment of a joint operations room of Gaza's different factions – who until now, have each issued statements concerning their own actions and intentions. The drill now shows that there is proper cooperation between them.

It is believed that this exercise – that was meant to last three days but was shortened to one day, and then to half a day – is a response of sorts to the major drills the IDF has held in recent months.

Among them, was "Lethal Arrow," a large-scale exercise held within the IDF's Northern Command which simulated a war with Hezbollah. It was considered a multi-day General Staff drill and involved the participation of thousands of troops from various branches of the military including the air force, navy, and ground forces, as well as from military intelligence and the IDF's technological, logistics, and cyber defense directorates.

Another drill was held within Southern Command and the Gaza Division that tested the readiness of all military branches for a possible confrontation with Hamas.

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