Israel will hold its annual national emergency exercise next week.
The drill, held jointly by the Israel Defensce Forces’ Home Front Command and emergency services, aims to prepare the Israeli public for the possibility of thousands of missiles and rockets, including unconventional weapons, hitting population centers and strategic installations across the country. The simulation will start Sunday, May 26 with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing a week of national emergency.
The first days of the drill will focus on civilian populations, practicing speedy retreat to protected areas. Participation will be checked online with the assistance of the Education Ministry, which devised a form asking students whether they and their parents indeed sheltered themselves.
This will be the first time the entire early warning system will be put to a test. In addition to sirens, civilians will be alerted by various media including mobile devices, social networks and television broadcasts.
“There is no longer a question of whether missiles will be launched at Israel’s major population centers, only when,” Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan said May 21, as the drill’s schedule was announced. — ynetnews.com