Israel drills for surprise attack with massive military exercise as expert invokes 1973 war

The Israeli military launched large-scale domestic military exercises on Sunday to counter surprise border infiltrations and ground raids across northern and central Israel, mobilizing multiple divisions and air assets amid rising regional tensions. The drills, set to continue over 48 hours, came as an Israeli security expert invoked the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Egypt and Syria used exercises to disguise preparations for a surprise attack, warning that escalating tensions in the region could trigger what he described as a "dangerous miscalculation."

Exercise Scope

The large-scale maneuvers involve the Northern Command's 210th Division, the West Bank Division, and the Central Command's 98th and 96th divisions, alongside the Israeli Air Force. The exercise, scheduled just ahead of Israel's elections Oct. 27, aims to "maintain the forces' alertness and readiness, strengthen the ability to defend communities, and make full use of aerial capabilities for defense in the area," according to the IDF.

On Friday, the IDF said troops would practice "a variety of scenarios, including a surprise attack and infiltration into Israeli territory by air and land," incorporating lessons learned from the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel.

Regional Tensions

The military exercise is not against Iran directly but against Iran's proxies and allies at the border of Israel, analysts said. "This exercise is mostly about non-state actors with or without Iranian support," Israeli national security analyst Dr. Ehud Eilam told Fox News Digital. "It's aimed at those in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan who might try to infiltrate into Israel or send ground raids. Some are supported by Iran; others are not."

Iranian Response

The Israeli drills followed a show of force by Tehran days earlier, during which the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired roughly 30 ballistic missiles across two distinct weapon classes. That live-fire display highlighted Iranian strike capabilities and sparked renewed alerts about commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and prompted the Israeli military to heighten its alert level while maintaining maximum readiness for a targeted strike against Iran.

During a visit to the IDF's Central Command on Wednesday, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned that the risk of escalation was growing. "Given the numerous warnings across all fronts and the sensitivity of the current period, the potential for escalation has increased," Zamir said. "To ensure better operational control on the ground, we have reinforced our troop deployments across all sectors, including moving the 98th Division into the area to strengthen security and stability."

Eilam noted that Iran's recent exercise was "more intimidating as far as Israel is concerned because they launched missiles and prepared for a war with Israel." He emphasized that the Israeli exercise "is against Iran's proxies and allies at the border of Israel." The drills also followed an Oct. 19 mission in which Israeli fighter jets flew 800 miles across Syrian and Iraqi airspace to Iran's border, a non-kinetic show of force that Washington was notified about in advance.

Historical Parallels

Despite the deterrence signals, Eilam warned that large-scale military exercises carry the "risk of miscalculation" and particularly when troop movements could be mistaken for preparations for an attack. He pointed to the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Egypt and Syria used military exercises to help conceal troop buildups along Israel's borders. Israeli intelligence largely dismissed the movements as routine drills, allowing the two countries to achieve strategic surprise when they launched a coordinated, two-front attack on Yom Kippur.

Eilam concluded that "it remains uncertain whether there will eventually be an Israeli attack on Iran because it depends on U.S. authorization." He added that "right now, both sides are signaling: 'We are ready, don't mess with us, but we don't want to start a war right now.'" The exercise continues through Monday with heightened security across Israel as the country approaches its election day.