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    • Explosion in Tel Aviv reveals large gaps in air raid shelter system
    Utah

    Explosion in Tel Aviv reveals large gaps in air raid shelter system

    Caradoc Wyn Posted on

    The truck explosion in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening is another frightening reminder that it is not only the north and the south that are threatened by terrorist attacks.

    The explosion, for which Hamas claimed responsibility, was an attempted terrorist attack. It could have occurred near a synagogue or a shopping center. The fact that this did not happen is, as Israeli police officer Haim Bobalil said, “a miracle.”

    The fact that Hamas has claimed responsibility for the attack is a sign that the densely populated cities in central Israel are not beyond its reach, something Hamas has previously demonstrated by firing rockets throughout the war and also in July, when the Yemeni Houthis managed to hit Tel Aviv.

    Hezbollah is also aware of this and has threatened in recent days to advance to Tel Aviv. And the looming threat of a massive attack by Iran and its allies still hangs over the millions of Israelis who live in the center.

    The Israeli Defense Forces have stressed that they are on high alert in the face of all these threats. However, the same cannot be said of individual locations across the country, particularly the center and Jerusalem.

    A member of the Israel Fire and Rescue Service assesses the damage to a building at the site of an explosion during the Israel-Hamas conflict in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 19, 2024. (Source: REUTERS/RICARDO MORAES)

    The main problems here are bomb shelters and safe rooms. Many older buildings lack safe rooms at all, and many other buildings only have stairwells. For many residents, this leaves public bomb shelters as the only option, and although there are many of them throughout the city, there are also many problems and gaps.

    For example, according to local reports, residents near Jaffa’s flea market struggled to gain access to the only public bomb shelter because the entrance was occupied by a local business that uses it as a warehouse for electronic goods.

    Lack of accommodation

    Another problem is the lack of public air raid shelters in the southeastern neighborhoods of Tel Aviv, which residents have long complained about.

    Outside Tel Aviv, the situation is not much better. In Holon, for example, the municipality’s website listed 69 available public bomb shelters. However, a survey by Mynet Holon found that 16 percent of them are in poor condition and are not approved as emergency shelters by the fire department and the Home Front Command. In addition, several of the bomb shelters are being used for other purposes, serving as synagogues or classrooms.

    Nowhere is this problem as bad as in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Post These figures were reported shortly after the latest Iranian missile and drone attack on the Jewish state and show that almost half (48%) of all Jerusalem residents do not have a bomb shelter at home.

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    In addition, the more than 200 public air raid shelters are not evenly distributed throughout the city. There are practically none in East Jerusalem, including in Jerusalem’s two largest neighborhoods, Ramot and Pisgat Ze’ev. The air raid shelters that exist in the city are not always usable; some are locked or poorly maintained.

    The bomb shelter crisis in Israel is nothing new, and authorities have been raising the alarm for years. In Holon, for example, a municipal audit in 2017 reportedly found that the city had mismanaged public bomb shelters.

    Making matters worse is Israel’s shortage of firefighters. A recent report by the independent investigative news channel Shomrim found that despite fires caused by rockets, missiles and drones in the north and south, Israel is still short of hundreds of firefighters and guards and can barely cope with the numerous fires.

    The state of Israel’s willingness to attack is unacceptable. Even if the Israeli armed forces are prepared to attack Hamas, Hezbollah or Iran, that does not mean that civilians are safe if they do not have safe spaces to flee to and fire and rescue forces to respond in the event of a crisis.

    On Sunday, Dan Ronen, the former director general of the now-closed Home Front Defense Ministry, said during an unofficial civilian investigation on October 7 that Israel was not prepared for a massive rocket attack from all fronts.

    He is right. This is an issue that concerns all Israeli governments and local politicians, regardless of their political affiliation, and it is a problem that cannot continue as it is.

    The government and local authorities must take action. We cannot count on another miracle to happen.



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    Caradoc Wyn
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