Daily News Channel
Israel started its biggest emergency drill in the nation’s history Sunday to prepare civilians, soldiers and rescue crews for the possibility of war, the defense force said in a statement. The five-day drill, nicknamed Turning Point 3, comes amid the nation’s rising tensions with Iran. It will be conducted in public facilities, including schools, military bases and government offices.
Whenever concerns are expressed over civilian casualties inflicted in Israeli military operations, the country’s generals and political leaders are quick to insist that theirs is the “world’s most moral army.” That claim was challenged by human rights observers over Israel’s recent offensive in Gaza, although such criticism is reflexively dismissed by Israel as driven by pro-Palestinian bias.
The Israeli military plans to investigate claims by Israeli soldiers that Palestinian civilians were killed and Palestinian property intentionally destroyed during Israel’s recent 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip. The claims were made by Israeli soldiers who were graduates of a pre-military course at an Israeli college.