Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced on Wednesday that he has held a meeting with CENTCOM Commander, General Michael “Erik” Kurilla on the sidelines of the major multi-front IDF exercise "Firm Hand."
The exercise started on Monday and is due to run for approximately two weeks, while the meeting with Kurilla took place on Tuesday at the Kirya in Tel Aviv.
Gallant briefed Gen. Kurilla on the launch of the IDF exercise, which is focusing on multi-front war due to the growing trend of Israel's enemies sometimes trying to challenge it on multiple fronts all at once, including Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank. Although the Sinai Peninsula has sometimes presented some threats, there have been fewer incidents in recent years owing to Egypt gaining better control over any ISIS or other terror groups there.
The exercise is also meant to plan for potential conflict with Iran, including multiple scenarios.
Preparing IDF for more intense rocket fire and attacks
In around a two-week period in April, there were rocket attacks from three different fronts, drone attacks from multiple fronts and terror attacks on multiple fronts.
Though these attacks were relatively low-scale, the exercise is preparing the IDF even for more intense rocket fire and attacks on various fronts.
The defense minister "expressed his appreciation to Gen. Kurilla for his great contribution to the ongoing cooperation and deep bond between the United States and Israel. He also emphasized the importance of US involvement in ensuring stability and expanding the circle of peace in the Middle East."
Further, he "raised the importance of joint exercises between the US and Israel, and in further deepening cooperation between the respective militaries and defense establishments."
The minister and IDF chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi also presented the achievements of the May 9-13 operation “Shield and Arrow” in Gaza, including the elimination of six senior leaders of Islamic Jihad.
Other aspects of Kurilla’s visit included the IDF’s human intelligence Unit 504, where he was given an update on recent operations and future plans.