Civil defense in Israel Civil defense in Israel deals with a variety of military and terrorist threats to the civilian population , which have included concealed bombs such as suicide bombing s and car bomb s , projectiles such as missile s , rocket s and mortars , and hijacking of aircraft , buses and buildings . Threats have originated in all countries and territories bordering Israel ( the West Bank , the Gaza Strip , Lebanon , Syria , Jordan and Egypt ) , as well as Iraq , and an Israeli civil airliner was attacked with missiles in Kenya . Perceived threats that have not materialized to date include sustained interruption of the economy , nuclear attack from Iran , and chemical or biological attack from Iraq or elsewhere . Institutions and legal frameworks . 1951 civil defense law . The 1951 civil defense law , revised several times since then , legislates matters pertaining to civil defense . The law requires shelters to be built in all homes , residential and industrial buildings . The law also establishes the civil defense service , mandates the construction and upkeep of shelters in homes , residential buildings and factories , allows the state to make use of private equipment and humanpower for emergency situations , defines a civil state of alert and lays down rules regarding the use of hazardous materials . Home Front Command . The Israeli Home Front Command was created in February 1992 following the Gulf War . Until the establishment of the Command , responsibility for the home front fell under the Civilian Defense ’ s Chief Officer Corps Command and under Regional Defense . During that time , the three regional commands had their own home front commands . After the first Persian Gulf War , these organizations were unified and the Home Front Command was created . Ever since its creation , there have been great efforts undertaken to turn the Home Front Command into a civilian body , but thus far , all of these have failed . It is currently headed by Aluf Yair Golan . National Emergency Authority . The National Emergency Authority ( " Reshut Heyrum Le ' umit " or " Rachel " for short ) was created in September 2007 and charged with coordinating military and civilian action during a state of emergency , war or natural disaster . Between 6 – 10 April 2008 , the National Emergency Authority conducted the largest emergency exercise in the country ' s history . Emergency Economy . The Emergency Economy ( " meshek l ' sheat heyrum " or " Melah " for short ) is a body whose function is to assure continued activity of vital enterprises during an emergency . An Emergency Economy order allows the recruitment of workers for essential private and public services , such as emergency services , medicine , local authorities , food and equipment supply , communications , etc . On 27 December 2008 , at the start of the 2008 - 2009 Israel - Gaza conflict , Industry , Trade and Labor Minister Eli Yishai signed an EE order applying to the local authorities in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip , Sderot , Netivot and Ashkelon . Special situation on the home front . The special situation on the home front ( SSHF ) is a legal mechanism allowing the Defense Ministry , through the Home Front Command , to issue binding regulations for the civilian population in the specified area . The decision is valid for 48 hours , and must then be ratified by the government . On 20 May 2007 Defense Minister Amir Peretz declared an SSHF in areas of southern Israel struck by rocket attacks from Gaza . The situation was lifted in August , but shortly afterward , On 4 September , Defense minister Ehud Barak declared an SSHF in Gaza vicinity communities for 48 hours following the resurgence of heavy rocket fire from Gaza . ZAKA . ZAKA ( Hebrew : זק " א , an acronym for " Zihuy Korbanot Ason " , literally : " Disaster Victim Identification " ) , is a series of voluntary community emergency response teams in Israel , each operating in a police district ( two in the Central District due to geographic considerations ) . These organizations are officially recognized by the government . The full name is ZAKA - Identification and Rescue - True Kindness ( Hebrew : זק " א - איתור חילוץ והצלה - חסד של אמת ) . ZAKA activity expanded rapidly during the al - Aqsa Intifada ( from September 2000 ) , when frequent terrorist suicide bombings created many scenes of disaster , with the remains and body parts of many victims strewn around bombing sites . Shelters . Bomb shelters . According to the 1951 civil defense law , all homes , residential buildings and industrial buildings in Israel are required to have bomb shelter s . However , several homes or residential buildings may make use of a single shelter jointly . Prior to the Lebanon War , PLO attacks from Lebanon led to thousands of Israelis spending large amounts of time in bomb shelters . In October 2010 , the Home Front Command intitiated a publicity campaign to explain to the public what the specified time people have to enter public bomb shelters after hearing the warning siren . Protected spaces . The " protected space " is a similar concept to the shelter but serves individual apartment units , building floors , or other public areas . It consists of a reinforced concrete room with access from the building ' s individual apartment . The idea of the protected space followed the First Gulf War , when the warning time for incoming missiles was shortened and there was a need for fast access to shelter . The move from subterranean bomb shelters to more elevated protected spaces was motivated by the possibility of the use of chemical weapons by neighbouring countries . In Hebrew , " merhav mugan dirati " is shortened to the most widely used term " mamad " , though protected spaces which are shared by an entire residential or office floor are called a " mamak " , short for " merhav mugan komati " . Fortifications . Communities near the Gaza Strip , which have been targeted by constant rocket attacks since 2001 , have additional fortifications . In March 2008 the government placed 120 fortified bus stops in Sderot , following a Defense Ministry assessment that most rocket - related injuries and fatalities were caused by shrapnel wounds in victims on the street . As of January 2009 , all schools in Sderot have been fortified against rockets ; fortifications consist of arched canopies over roofs . However , on 3 January 2009 a Grad rocket penetrated the fortification of a school in Ashkelon . In March 2009 , Sderot inaugurated a reinforced children ' s recreation center built by the Jewish National Fund . The purpose of the center , which has " $ 1 . 5 million worth of reinforced steel " , is to provide a rocket - proof place for children to play . Sderot also has a " missile - protected playground , " with concrete tunnels painted to look like caterpillars . Non - permanent fortification facilities . Bell shaped Migunit . Armed concrete facility with a bell like form , with space for small number of people that can be placed in open fields or near roads . Box migunit . An armed concrete facility with a box like form , put using a crane and can containe 10 + people . Sewer pipes . Several meter sewer pipes are put near houses . Warning systems . Warning sirens . Air raid sirens used are typically sounded to warn of air raids or missile attacks on civilian population . Most of the sirens in urban areas are German - made HLS ( supercharged ) sirens , model F71 . The Air Raid Sirens are called אזעקה ( " Az ' aka " , literally " alarm " ) , and consist of a continuous , ascending and descending tone . The " all - clear " signal ( called צפירת הרגעה , " Tzfirat Harga ' ah " ) is a continuous single - pitch sound . However , in recent conflicts use of the " all - clear " signal has been discontinued , as it was seen as causing needless confusion and alarm . Sirens also double for ceremonial use . The " all - clear " signal is used three times yearly to denote a minute ' s silence , once on Israel ' s Holocaust Remembrance Day and twice on Day of Remembrance . Red Dawn . The Red Color ( Hebrew : צבע אדום , transl . : Tzeva Adom ) is an early warning radar system installed by the Israel Defence Forces in several towns surrounding the Gaza Strip to warn civilians of imminent attack by rockets ( usually Qassam rockets ) . The system was installed in Ashkelon between July 2005 and April 2006 . Guards . Civil aircraft . Israel ' s national air carrier , El Al , is widely regarded as the safest airline in the world , and no flight leaving Israel ' s Ben Gurion International Airport has ever been hijacked . One exceptional method used in Israeli airport security is that security agents personally converse with each passenger , looking for clues that the person is a terrorist or is being unwittingly used by terrorists . Other measures include reinforced cockpit doors and an air marshal on every flight . Public transportation . The Magen Unit was established in 2001 with the task of protecting Israeli public transportation from suicide bomber s . The unit consisted of some 800 security guards , all post - army with combat certification - and in some areas , including downtown Jerusalem , the unit also utilized K - 9 squads with specially - trained bomb - sniffing dogs . The unit ' s presence became more public in the years of the Second Intifada , in which 267 people were killed in 41 terror attacks targeting public transportation . Magen was disbanded in late 2007 following a cabinet decision in August of that year . Public and communal buildings . The entrances of most shopping malls , stores , restaurants and other public buildings in Israel have guards , and often metal detectors . While such security keeps bombers out , it also creates lines of people who sometimes become targets . Chemical warfare defenses . During the 1991 Gulf War , Israel feared that Iraq would attack the country with missiles carrying chemical weapons and prepared accordingly . Four million gas masks were distributed to citizens across the country , as well as to residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip , and chemical - proof sealed rooms were prepared in homes . No chemical weapons were actually launched by Iraq , but Iraq did fire 39 conventional Scud missiles on Israel during the course of the war , hitting neighborhoods around Tel Aviv and elsewhere and causing extensive property damage . As soon as the first missile fell , Israel declared a chemical - weapons civil defense alert . Upon missile attacks , air - raid sirens sounded nationwide and civil defense authorities instructed the public , via radio , to don gas masks and close themselves in sealed rooms . In early 1998 , during an escalation in the Iraq disarmament crisis , a media - stirred panic of Iraqi chemical attack ensued in Israel , with thousands lining up at gas mask distribution centers . Officials downplayed the dangers but began preparations nonetheless . Prior to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq , Israel instructed its citizens to ready their sealed rooms again and to carry gas masks at all times , though it assessed the likelihood of chemical attack as low . Missile interception systems . The increasing danger of rocket and missile fire against the State of Israel ( namely , Qassam rocket fire from Gaza , Katyusha rocket fire from South Lebanon , and Iran ' s ballistic missile arsenal ) has led to the development of defense systems to counter this threat . In addition to the Iron Dome system , which is designed to intercept short range rockets , the David ' s Sling system has also been developed in order to intercept medium and long range rockets , while the Arrow missile , designed to intercept ballistic missiles , is already in use . Arrow missile . The Arrow " Interceptor " ( Hebrew : טיל חץ ) ABM is a theater missile defense ( TMD ) system ; it is the first missile developed by Israel and United States that was specifically designed and built to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles on a national level . On July 29 , 2004 , Israel and the United States carried out a joint test flight in the USA in which the Arrow was launched against a real Scud missile . The test was a success , with the Arrow destroying the Scud with a direct hit . In December 2005 the system was successfully tested again in a firing against a replicated Scud C as Shahab - 3 missile . This test success was repeated on February 11 , 2007 . David ' s Sling . David ' s Sling ( Hebrew : קלע דוד ) , also sometimes called Magic Wand ( Hebrew : שרביט קסמים ) , is an Israel Defense Forces military system being jointly developed by the Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd . and the American defense contractor Raytheon , designed to intercept medium - to long - range rockets . Iron Dome . Iron Dome ( Hebrew : כיפת ברזל ) is a mobile system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd . designed to intercept short - range rockets with a range less than 70 km . Rafael states that the system is an effective solution to short range rockets ( such as Qassam rockets ) and 155mm shells , capable of operating both during the day and at night , under various weather conditions , and able to confront multiple simultaneous threats . It was proved to be about 80 % successful in downing rockets during the 2012 Gaza war .