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JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said Thursday that around 200 U.S. and Israeli officers had staged a computer-based battle simulation designed to improve coordination between the two countries' armed forces.
The four-day exercise, codenamed "Juniper Falcon" was part of a standing agreement between the two strategic allies to hold regular joint training to boost "interoperability, understanding and cooperation" a military statement released on Thursday said.
The statement stressed that the exercise, which ended on Wednesday, had been planned a year in advance and was not related to actual events.
Defense officials said that in addition the Israeli military's southern command held a separate simulation based on a scenario of an escalated conflict in Gaza. They said that the drill, codenamed "Coiled Spring" should not be seen as a precursor to a real offensive into the Gaza Strip.
Israel has been battling the Hamas movement in Gaza since the Islamic militant group violently seized control of the strip from the forces of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last June.
The violence has however eased somewhat in recent weeks as Egypt pressed Hamas to stop its rocket fire and Israel to halt military strikes. The truce efforts intensified after a fierce round of fighting that began in late February and killed more than 120 Palestinians, including dozens of civilians, as well as three Israelis.
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