- MIDDLE EAST FORUM - Seth J. Frantzman - THE JERUSALEM POST - MAY 20, 2022 -
On Thursday morning, an error in identification caused Israeli air defenses to launch interceptors in the North. Alarms were heard in several communities.
Analysts believed a drone flown by Hezbollah might have been the culprit, but it all turned out to be a false alarm and apparently a mistake.
Two days before, however, Hezbollah had indeed launched a drone and Israel had to down the threat.
The context is that Israel is seeing some tensions growing with Hezbollah and Iran in Syria. These two issues are related because Iran is a growing threat to Israel and continues to plot against Israel. This week Defense Minister Benny Gantz flew to the US to meet with American officials. His trip came as the new head of US Central Command flew to Israel to meet with Israeli counterparts.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi met with US Army Gen. Michael Kurilla, and according to the IDF the two participated in important meetings and briefings. This included a meeting attended by the head of the Strategic Planning and Cooperation Directorate, Maj.-Gen. Tal Kelman, the head of the Intelligence Directorate, Maj.-Gen. Aharon Haliva, and the head of the Operations Directorate, Maj.-Gen. Oded Basiuk.
"The meetings discussed the joint challenges of the IDF and the US Armed Forces, first and foremost being the Iranian nuclear threat and Iranian regional entrenchment throughout the Middle East. The senior officials also discussed operational cooperation between the two militaries and opportunities for expansion in light of the IDF's realignment to the US CENTCOM area of responsibility," the IDF said.
Kurilla also observed the large-scale ongoing drill called Chariots of Fire. This is the largest drill in decades, reports have said. It comes as Israel is rolling out new technology related to a program called Edge of Tomorrow. All of this looks tailored to the rising threats that stretch from Lebanon to Syria via Iraq to Iran.
This is a "large-scale exercise, which is focused on a month-long campaign, and demonstrates updated operational plans, adjusted military capabilities, new combat methods, including practicing operational cooperation with the US Armed Forces," the IDF said.
Kohavi said that "at the conclusion of the exercise, the Israel Defense Forces' readiness for a campaign will be at its peak." He highlighted the importance of close cooperation with the US.
The Kurilla visit is actually the second high-level CENTCOM visit in the last weeks. Two weeks ago Maj.-Gen. Scott Benedict, director of strategy, plans and policy of the United States Central Command, visited Israel.
"The meetings incorporated discussions regarding common challenges of the two militaries in the Middle East. Also discussed were the operational and intelligence cooperation between the two militaries," the IDF said.
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