Israel's armed forces on Monday began a large-scale two-week exercise across the country, simulating a possible multi-front war.
A military source said the exercise will involve carrying out simulated "strategic" strikes deep into enemy territory in a full war scenario and the Navy will carry out mock offensive and defensive actions.
The IDF said troops from the regular and reserve army, from almost all units, would take part in the exercise - codenamed "Strong Hand" - over the next two weeks.
"The forces will practice handling challenges and sudden events on multiple fronts simultaneously," the Israeli Armed Forces General Staff said in a statement.
According to the Israeli military, the exercise was pre-planned, meaning it did not arise from recent security assessments.
The General Staff of the Israeli Armed Forces warned that there would be a significant increase in the presence of security forces and aircraft throughout the country during the exercise.
As the Pentateuch reveals, this exercise will not be limited only to Israel as almost the entire southern FIR of Nicosia has been committed to the needs of the Israeli exercise to simulate long-distance operations.
In this context even F-35 stealth fighters will fly in Nicosia FIR simulating long distance operational flights with full load.
Last year, the IDF conducted its largest exercise in decades. The four-week exercise - dubbed "Chariots of Fire" - also focused on sudden events that erupted in multiple theaters at once, while mainly dealing with the fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The current exercise comes after army chief Lt. Gen. Herchi Halevi warned last Tuesday of possible "negative developments" regarding Iran's nuclear program that would force Israel to react.
Speaking at a conference in Herzliya, Halevi said Israel's capabilities against Iran "are good... We need to strengthen them more so that we can carry out a broad campaign against Iran."
He said a potential war against Iran would not be fought in the same way as a battle in a single arena. "Given a game against five players, the strength of our power will be greater."
Israel is pushing the US to prepare military contingency plans to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. US President Joe Biden has said he is ready to use military force if necessary, but prefers to exhaust the diplomatic route first.
However, due to the lack of progress on Iran's return to a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, the IDF has stepped up efforts over the past two years to prepare a credible military threat against Tehran's nuclear facilities.
During the Chariots of Fire exercise last year, dozens of Air Force fighter jets performed aerial maneuvers over the Mediterranean Sea, simulating a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
