The IDF has asked UN forces patrolling southern Lebanon to emphasize to the government in Beirut that Israel's major security drill this week poses no threat to Lebanon. Beirut on Friday ordered a heightened state of alert in southern Lebanon. Lebanese reports said that Israel had taken several steps to reassure Lebanon that Israel would not violate Lebanese sovereignty during the drill.

Commenting on the drill, Hizbullah said that it showed Israel's weakness. "Israel's military drill is not a testament of its strength but of its frustration and despair following its defeat in the Second Lebanon War," Israel Radio quoted Hizbullah terrorist spokesperson Nabil Kaouk as saying Saturday.