Hamas drill
Gazans prepare for possible war with Israel with surprise drill
Using instructions and information from the IDF's Home Front Command, the Gaza Interior Ministry conducts drill, teaching schoolchildren how to seek shelter in case of Israeli attack; Hamas forces drill war scenarios on borders with Israel, Egypt.
The Gazan Interior Ministry conducted a surprise drill on Wednesday for Hamas and other security and rescue forces in the strip, using information from the IDF's Home Front Command on seeking shelter in time of attack.
The information and instructions to the civilian population on how to locate the nearest safe space and how to evacuate children to shelters were appropriated from the IDF's Home Front Command's website and from messages it issues to the Israeli public.
Teachers at educational institutions in the strip drilled evacuating the students from the classrooms to a safe space in an orderly fashion, in line with the Israeli Home Front Command's guidelines.
The exercise, which lasted about 12 hours, drilled different scenarios of Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, which were based on incidents that took place during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge.
And so, Gazan children learned that during an Israeli attack, they must go into a shelter. But because the strip doesn't have proper bomb shelters like in Israel, children are told to seek cover between four walls. They were also told to lie on the ground with their hands covering their heads.
The exercise also included different scenarios along Gaza's borders with Egypt and Israel. Large numbers of Gazan police forces were deployed throughout the strip, while Hamas forces drilled scenarios of Israeli attacks, including ground invasion. Rescue forces, meanwhile, drilled the evacuation of wounded.
