As Gaza terrorists continue raining rockets on Israeli civilians, an Israel Builders Association report shows that over half of the homes in the country don't have a residential secure space in which to take cover in case of an attack.
According to data, out of almost 3,000,000 residential apartments in Israel, at least 1,600,000, or 63%, don't have a bomb shelter.
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Civilians take cover in a stairwell in a Tel Aviv building during a rocket attack
(Photo: Dana Kopel)
Leading the list is the capital of Jerusalem with some 180,000 apartments without shelter, followed by Tel Aviv with 160,000, Haifa with over 98,000, Petah Tikva with close to 50,000 and Rishon Lezion with some 46,000 apartments that do not have a bomb shelter.
The state comptroller warned in August 2020 that some 2,600,000 Israelis, which account for 28% of the country's population, don’t have standard protection from rocket threats at home.
The state's security cabinet has sanctioned a multi-year plan for the years 2019-2030 to tackle the problem, but the state has yet to devise an outline for it or allocate proper funds.
In the meantime, countless public bomb shelters in various communities around the Gaza border remain ill-prepared to house local residents for extended time periods.
According to government estimates, there are some 800,000 housing units across Israel that were built prior to 1980 and do not have a proper bomb shelter. Only 115,000 of said apartments are planned to be added bomb shelters or be demolished and rebuilt according to modern construction standards.
Meanwhile, a six-year-old child has been killed in the southern city of Sderot after his home took a direct hit from a rocket and a piece of shrapnel managed to penetrate the armored window, killing him.
However, it is important to note that this is the first and only known case of physical injury from rockets inside a residential bomb shelter.