IDF drill sees rockets land in Ashdod

Sunday morning will see the defense establishment staging an exercise for command HQs simulating an escalation of the security situation in southern Israel and the Gaza-vicinity communities.

The drill is designed to examine the cooperation between the various government ministries, emergency response organizations and local municipalities. It will include extreme scenarios, such as the firing of rockets towards the city of Ashdod. Other municipalities taking part in the exercise are: Ashkelon, Netivot, Kiryat Gat, the Eshkol Regional Council, Sha'ar Hanegev, Sedot Negev and Hof Ashkelon.

The exercise will be held entirely in the Kirya base in central Tel Aviv and not in the field, so no irregular troop movement is to be expected.

The defense establishment is continuing is make the most of the current ceasefire to prepare residents and Home Front authorities for a possible escalation.

Deputy Minister of Defense, Matan Vilnai, will oversee the exercise. The various players will be confronted with challenging scenarios and dilemmas that may arise in the event of such escalation.

"The ceasefire has not made us calmer. We are continuing to step-up our level of preparedness. We have the responsibility to always be ready for any possibility. This is a rare opportunity to bring in all the

different authorities and thoroughly test ourselves. I hope that the simulation will remain just that."

Among the different scenarios being drilled is mass public hysteria following rocket strikes, citizens abandoning their jobs and the disruption of routine daily life.

"We encountered similar situations during the Second Lebanon War, and since then the Home Front has been vastly improved. We've brushed off the dust and put a lot of effort into studying out all these authorities could and should be working with each other," a defense official explained.