“This is an unprecedented exercise, the first of its kind in the IDF,” said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.
By The IDF Club
The IDF this week successfully completed “Lion’s Roar,” one of the most extensive and complex exercises conducted in Central Command in recent years.
The multi-branch drill brought together the Judea and Samaria Division and the newly formed 96th “Gilad” Division, which operated side by side for the first time in a coordinated format. The exercise was part of the army’s ongoing effort to prepare for extreme scenarios in the central region.
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited the joint divisional drill alongside Central Command head Maj. Gen. Avi Blot, Judea and Samaria Division commander Brig. Gen. Kobi Heller, Gilad Division commander Brig. Gen. Oren Simcha, Ground Training Center commander Brig. Gen. Eliad Moati, and other senior officers.
According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the exercise included around 180 aircraft from the Air Force and hundreds of regular and reserve soldiers, who carried out more than 40 operational scenarios based on updated threat analyses and lessons learned from the October 7 attacks and the Iron Swords War.
Scenarios included simultaneous terrorist infiltrations into multiple communities, assaults on IDF outposts, casualty evacuation under fire, urban warfare in dense terrain, and mass-casualty response coordination with civilian emergency services.
“This is an unprecedented exercise, the first of its kind in the IDF,” said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir during his visit. “As part of it, we are testing the new Eastern Division, which was established in response to the lessons of the war, functioning as a full divisional framework. One of our key lessons from October 7 is the responsibility for defense in each sector and the transformation of our security concept—we are disrupting threats as they emerge, and we are doing that here as well.”
He added, “Our forces are operating on the ground to prevent threats and protect the residents of the region. The settlements are important to us, and we appreciate them. Strengthening the settlements is an integral component of security—we must continue to act to reinforce and empower this element. Our guiding principle is clear: when terror meets the army, civilians can live their daily lives. We are the defensive barrier between terrorist organizations and the citizens of Israel.”
