What Will Israel's Next War Look Like?

With multiple enemies training hundreds of thousands of missiles and rockets on Israel's cities and towns, the Israeli Defense Force recently presented a next new war scenario to the Security Cabinet.

Of the estimated 230,000 weapons focused on Israel, the IDF predicts more than 10,000 direct hits in populated Jewish areas resulting in upwards of 400 fatalities, according to Israel National News. 

In its presentation to the Security Council, the IDF's very real war scenario highlights the possible aggressions by Islamic terror groups from the Gaza Strip, both Syrian and Iranian armed forces, as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon. The army is making ready for a potential mass confrontation on multiple fronts. 

Such an assault on the Israeli citizenry would come from large, sustained rocket and missile attacks that would blanket the country from the northern Haifa region to the south coast and would expose much of the population to direct strikes on buildings.

Although many projectiles are expected to land in open spaces, at least one percent of all launched weapons would devastate urban and suburban populations and cause hundreds of civilian casualties.

Along the Syrian border, two missiles we recently fired at Israeli Air Force aircraft that may signify an emboldening of Pres. Bashar al-Assad's army and a policy shift by the regime with regards to the Jewish state's military activity in the region. 

While a final determination about Syrian intentions has been put on hold, The Jerusalem Post reports, "The firing of two S-200 surface-to-air missiles in the Quneitra region was not a coincidence. The Syrian Army released an official statement on the incident."

The actions by the Syrian military may be the first steps toward dissolving a relative peace that has lasted more than five years. This is the first case in which Assad's forces fired upon Israel's air force since the Syrian civil war broke out. 

The IAF has flown missions in Syrian airspace safely and without incident until now. According to reports, the IAF has been maintaining intelligence surveillance by using fighter jets and unmanned assets.

These reconnaissance missions have proven a valuable self defense tool and unearthed activities by the Syrian Army that included "convoys bringing advanced weaponry - precision surface-to-surface missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, and radar and anti-ship missiles - to Hezbollah in Lebanon," according to The Jerusalem Post. 

Fortunately, Israeli forces were able to destroy the proliferation of this advanced weaponry before it reached the hands of Hezbollah.

As the Syrian civil war pushes toward Israel's border, the IAF has taken a measured response to aggressions against its sovereignty, whether these incidents were intentional or unintentional. According to The Times of Israel, multiple mortars exploded around the Golan Heights area. 

The IAF responded to the threat by striking Syrian artillery positions near the border. As the Iranian and Russian support of the Syrian military pushes rebels toward the border, expectations are that more projectiles will strike Israeli soil and growing concerns that the dispersing Syrian conflict poses a threat to the Jewish people.

In the face of these multi-front dangers, the IDF Home Front Command is preparing people for large-scale missile attacks, with a particular concern that Hezbollah will strike from Lebanon. According to The Jerusalem Post, "war drills" are being held in conjunction with nationwide air raid sirens to simulate missile and rocket attacks. 

The IDF also plans to evacuate people living within two-and-a-half miles of the Gaza border area. Home Front Command reports that a multi-faceted assault on Israel could create massive disruption and estimates that an all-out assault by Hezbollah could result in as many as 1,500 rockets being fired into Israel daily. 

These rockets mainly have a range of less than 30 miles and border communities in the north and south would likely take the brunt of such aggressions.

However, The Algemeiner reported that IDF Deputy Chief of Staff said that in "Israel's next war with the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite terrorist organization, dozens of missiles could strike the Tel Aviv metropolitan area."

As the Syrian civil war further destabilizes the region and neighboring aggressors focus military weapons on the Jewish State, the military braces for another potential war. The Israeli military and citizenry are currently on high alert.