A DRILL at the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba tests responses to a chemical weapons attack. Photo: IDF Spokesperson/Jerusalem Post.

Israeli leaders continue to prepare themselves and their citizens for worst-case scenarios. Here’s the latest example.

“The IDF Home Front Command (HFC) launched a three-day exercise on Tuesday simulating a chemical and conventional missile attack on Tel Aviv,” reports the Jerusalem Post. “The drill is standard, was planned last year, and is unrelated to any current events.”

“During the exercise, the Home Front Command will distribute chemical protection kits in three areas — Tel Aviv, Bat Yam, and Holon,” the Post notes. “Local residents near the distribution centers have been notified by mail, and the names of the distribution stations are listed on the Home Front Command’s internet site. On Wednesday, the HFC will drill chemical missile attacks on IDF headquarters at the Kirya in Tel Aviv and on two east Tel Aviv residential neighborhoods, Bitzron and Ramat Israel. The drill will include voluntary evacuations of local residents who agree to cooperate in the exercise….City-wide sirens will be activated at 6:05 p.m. on Wednesday, and fireworks will be seen in the Tel Aviv evening sky as part of the exercise.”

“We’re holding this exercise in the context of a series of drills to improve our readiness,” a senior Home Front Command official told the Post. “A computer simulator was used to envisage the chemical attack, he added….The source acknowledged the fact that many Israelis still have not received gas masks, but urged Tel Aviv residents to take advantage of the drill to get hold of the kits. The drill will conclude on Thursday. In May, the HFC held a war drill based on the scenario of missiles pouring in from multiple fronts, with some carrying chemical warheads. The ‘targets’ included population centers and strategic facilities. Security officials say the risk of an actual chemical attack on Israel is very low.”

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