War ready. Hizbullah
Photo: Rinat Malkes
Report: Hizbullah conducted mass military drill in southern Lebanon
Organization said to have held largest 'defensive' military exercise ever; drill lasts three days, preparations undetected by UNIFIL forces
Hizbullah conducted its largest military exercise ever in southern Lebanon several days ago, the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported Monday.
According to the report, the exercise was three days long and spanned thousands of the organization's fighters. Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah was said to have commanded the drill personally.
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The exercise, said the paper, was meant to deter Israel from launching another assault against Lebanon, and increase Hizbullah's readiness.
Hizbullah terrorists gathered south of the Litani River for what was called an "exercise of defensive nature against an overall Israeli strike".
The drill included the mass deployment of fighters, including thousands of infantry guerillas, anti-tank missile units, anti-aircraft missile units, the engineering unit and the organization's star units of rocket launchers.
The drill reportedly took into account the IDF's deployment near the Israel-Lebanon border, as well as the deployment of UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) and Lebanese forces in southern Lebanon.
UNIFIL, stressed the report, "was amazed by the covert action of Hizbullah, which was able to keep the drill under wraps right up to its start."
The Israel Air Force, added the report, followed the exercise with "unprecedented activity along the border".
"We hope the enemy, like our friends, will understand Hizbullah's willingness to stop any Israeli threat," said Nasrallah at the drill's conclusion.
Hizbullah, said Al-Akhbar, conducted the drill while aware of the mass intelligence activity in the area, both by Israel and by other nations.
