The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continue training units for a possible escalation with Hezbollah in Israel’s north. After nine months of war in Gaza, Hezbollah maintains daily attacks on northern Israel and has increased the attacks’ range over the last several months. The Iranian-backed group also increasingly relies on drones for attacks and surveillance missions. On July 24, Hezbollah published new footage claiming to have been taken from drones flying over Israel’s Ramat David Airbase.
Israel’s 228th Reserve Brigade conducted a brigade-sized exercise in northern Israel that began on July 21. “The troops practiced combat scenarios in Lebanon, including movement in thicketed terrain, advancing along mountainous routes, the activation of fire, evacuating wounded soldiers under fire, and logistical and communications support from headquarters,” the IDF said.
The 228th Brigade has twice deployed to northern Israel since October to face off against Hezbollah threats. Israel’s defenses in the north are entrusted to a variety of reservist and regular army units. Many of them have gone through similar brigade-sized training exercises in the last nine months to prepare for battlefield scenarios.
IDF Brigadier General Shay Kalper, the commander of the 91st Division responsible for defending the northern Israeli border with Lebanon, gave a short speech at the conclusion of the training. He said the division was “ready, willing, and determined” to defeat Hezbollah. He also said the training was part of the IDF’s goal to bring security back to residents of the north. More than 50,000 Israelis remain evacuated from border communities, and Israeli officials have said that the displaced children from the north, who number around 15,000, will begin the fall 2024 school year in hotels and other settings to which they have evacuated.
The commander of the 228th Brigade, Colonel Yaniv Malka, thanked the reservists for their continued service. Many reservists have been called up for more than 100 days out of the last nine months, and some have been called up for a month or two, sent home, and called up again. This unprecedented use of reservists by Israel is due to the length and scope of the war, including its numerous fronts.
Hezbollah continued to attack northern Israel with drones and rockets, in addition to publishing the new footage claiming to be drone video of Ramat David Airbase, an important IDF facility.
The footage appears to have been taken at different times in the afternoon and evening and spliced together. Hezbollah pinpoints various parts of the airbase and shows helicopters on a tarmac. This is the third time the group has published significant drone footage like this since the war began. Footage released in early July showed bases in Israel’s Golan Heights, though the presence of snow on the Golan indicates the video was taken earlier in the year. In June, the Iranian-backed group also published footage showing an Israeli naval facility in Haifa and other sites along the Mediterranean coast.
The IDF responded to Hezbollah’s publication of the new video by noting that the drone had filmed, but the “activity of the base was not harmed.” The IDF also stated that the Israeli Air Force “uses all means to protect the skies of the State of Israel and will continue to do so.”
On July 23, Hezbollah launched numerous rockets at the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona. In addition, “a number of projectile launches from Lebanon were identified crossing into Israeli territory and falling in the area of Har Dov, a number of hits were identified in the area. IDF artillery is striking the sources of fire,” the IDF said. Israel retaliated for the attacks and intercepted two Hezbollah drones overnight between July 23 and July 24.
