Rocket alert siren sounded across Israel as part of drill
Siren sounded at 11:05am and will be sounded again at 7:05pm, with Israelis at work, at school and at home asked to seek shelter; it is part of a large-scale exercise to drill emergency preparedness in all of the IDF's commands.
Rocket alert siren was sounded across Israel at 11:05am Tuesday and will be sounded again at 7:05pm as part of a large-scale General Staff exercise to drill emergency preparedness in all of the military's commands. A second siren will be sounded in the event of a real emergency.
When the siren sounded, IDF bases, government ministries and public institutions practiced entering shelters. Schools and kindergartens across the country also took part in the exercise, with students drilling taking cover under desks and entering school bomb shelters.
The IDF has asked the public to follow suit and enter shelters or safe spaces when the drill siren sounds, "in accordance with the time they are allotted and Home Front Command's instructions."
The rocket alert sirens were also sounded on the radio, appeared on different websites and beepers for people who are hard of hearing, on the TV and on the Home Front Command's website and mobile app.
Instructions for finding a safe place to hide following an alert siren can be found on Home Front Command's app and website. "If entering a safe space during the exercise entails an unreasonable disruption of daily routine, routine can be preferred," the IDF elucidated.
All essential services, including hospitals, will continue operating normally. In addition, conferences and other mass gatherings will also be held normally.
The aim of the exercise is to prepare the different commands for a range of emergency and war scenarios and to increase the readiness and operational dialogue between the various commands.
Just like every year, an emphasis will be placed on coordination and cooperation between the Home Front Command forces and the National Emergency Authority, local authorities, security and rescue forces, the education system and other public and private bodies.
The drill simulates an extreme scenario of a multi-front war during which Israel might come under fire of thousands of rockets and missiles a day from all fronts.
Home Front Command forces will practice rescues at several wreckage sites across the country. Some of the standing army's Search and Rescue Brigade will be diverted from operational duty to civilian locations that were "damaged" by direct rocket hits. In addition, some Home Front Command reservists will be called up to participate in some of the assignments tasked to the command.
Unlike previous home front exercises, the first of which took place in 2008, this time most of the drill focuses on the command headquarters rather than the forces in the field. The IDF is drilling coordination in real time between the Home Front Command, the Israel Police, other emergency organizations and local authorities. The different commands are drilling sharing of information, creating a joint situation report and managing the forces on the ground.
The IDF says the goal of the rocket alert sirens drill is to prepare the general public to enter protected areas both in their workplaces and their homes, and to test the functionality of the rocket alert siren system across the country.
“The exercise is another opportunity to prepare the general public for emergency situations, to test the various systems, the inter-organizational coordination and the improvement of preparedness during an emergency.”
The IDF Spokesman's Office stressed that "The drill was planned in advanced as part of the training plan for 2018 and is meant to maintain the fitness and readiness of the troops."
