Israeli forces training for rapid incursions against Hizbullah in Lebanon
TEL AVIV — The Israel Army has intensified training for another war
with the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah.
Officials said the army has formulated a training course that would
prepare combat troops to rapidly cross into Lebanon and overcome Hizbullah's
network of bunkers and tunnels south of the Litani River. They said the
training was meant to significantly shorten any future war with Hizbullah, Middle East Newsline reported.
In 2006, Israel and Hizbullah agreed to a ceasefire after 34 days of combat.
"We were totally unprepared for the last war, and we took weeks learning
on the job," an official said. "This time, we intend to confront Hizbullah,
knowing exactly its assets and capabilities."
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The army has constructed training centers that included mock villages
and mountain regions meant to resemble southern Lebanon. One training center
consisted of an urban facility as well as an area that replicated the hilly
region of the Shebaa Plateau.
"Hizbullah has restored its network of safe houses, tunnels and
bunkers," the official said. "This would enable Hizbullah fighters to enter
one house and come out of another entrance nearly a
kilometer away."
Officials said the military has accelerated training amid an alert along
Israel's northern border with Lebanon. They said Hizbullah and the Lebanese
Army have been coordinating forces south of Lebanon's Litani River.
One of the new Israeli training centers was planned for the Elyakim base
in the Lower Galilee. The military also plans bases at Lachish in southern
Israel.
The military has also been developing urban warfare centers in which
live fire would be employed. The two centers, monitored by hundreds of
surveillance cameras, would contain 18 structures made of rubber that would
absorb live fire.