Israeli Combat Engineering Corps of the Central Command during a military training at the Golan Heights, northern Israel, September 4, 2008. Photo: IDF Spokesperson/Flash90.

JNS.org – The Israel Defense Forces called up thousands of ‎reservists on Sunday as part of a surprise exercise in ‎the Golan Heights on Israel’s border with Syria.‎

The drill is expected to last several days and will ‎include heavy security vehicle traffic in the area. ‎

Echoes of explosions are also likely to be heard in the surrounding communities, ‎the military said. ‎

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit stressed that the ‎exercise does not indicate a change in alert levels in the northern sector but ‎is part of the routine training ‎program for reservists in 2018 and aims to test the level of preparedness at short notice.‎

The drill is being held amid mounting tensions in the ‎northern sector over Israel’s insistence that ‎Iranian forces leave Syria. ‎

Israel has destroyed multiple Iranian assets in Syria recently and reportedly reached agreements with Russia to remove ‎Iranian-backed forces from southern Syria and away ‎from the border. However, the Wall Street Journal reported ‎over the weekend that Hezbollah terrorists and pro-‎Iranian militants have returned to the area ‎disguised as Syrian army units.‎

Israel is wary of Iran’s efforts to expand its power in the region and has promised to resist any attempt by Iran to establish a military presence in neighboring Syria.

On Thursday, the Israeli Air Force concluded a large exercise simulating a massive strike on ‎targets in the Gaza Strip. ‎

The week-long drill, which was hailed as a success, included hundreds of ‎aircraft performing daytime and nighttime flights with the aim of reviewing the IAF’s ability to tackle multiple, simultaneous combat scenarios.