Recent IDF field doctors' drill
Recent IDF field doctors' drillIsrael news photo: IDF / Elle Yahalom

Medical personnel, police and IDF soldiers are set to converge in central Israel Tuesday as the IDF kicks off its fifth annual 'Orange Flame' biological warfare drill.

The exercise, led by Home Front Command and the Ministry of Health, involves the National Emergency Management Authority, Kaplan Medical Hospital, Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center, Meir Medical Center, Magen David Adom, Israel Police and the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute.

The drill is designed to improve the emergency response capabilities and inter-agency cooperation between all of central Israel's medical organizations.

The two-day exercise will simulate different emergency scenarios in three hospitals and in additional emergency response centers set up in Ramla and Kfar Saba, and will include field and command post drills.

The IDF noted in a statement that the drill was planned in advance as part of the military establishment's routine exercise schedule for 2010.