“We are prepared for war,” Col, Ofer Levy, commander of the IDF’s Givati Brigade
said Wednesday following a grueling week-long brigade exercise in northern
Israel.
The drill, held ahead of the brigade’s deployment along the
border with the Gaza Strip, included a wide-range of scenarios aimed at
preparing the unit for a future war with either Hezbollah in Lebanon or
Syria.
Levy said that the week-long drill was unique and included the
crossing of a river in the North with assistance from the Combat Engineering
Corps and its elite Yael squad which specializes in crossing water
obstacles.
“This is something we don’t usually do as well as climbing a
very steep hill during an attack on a target,” Levy said. “If it is hard in
training we hope it will be easier in battle.”
Levy noted that the
brigade’s newly-established Rimon Reconnaissance Unit also participated in the
drill. Rimon was established in 2010, a year after Operation Cast Lead in the
Gaza Strip and as the terror threat was increasing from the Sinai
Peninsula.
Levy said that the unit, which is deployed along Israel’s
border with Egypt, specializes in reconnaissance and covert missions and has the
ability to move quickly through difficult terrain with light vehicles.