Israel is Dangerously Short of Bomb Shelters
The State Comptroller of Israel released a report with alarming statistics this week, showing that 2.6 million Israelis DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO FUNCTIONAL BOMB SHELTERS, putting their lives in grave danger!
Here are the highlights of the report:
Shmuel Bowman, Executive Director of Operation Lifeshield and Deby Brown, Director of Song For Israel at the entrance of one of our bomb shelters in Israel
About 30% of Israelis do not have functioning bomb shelters near their homes, including over 250,000 civilians who live near Gaza and Lebanon, areas under the highest threat of rocket attacks
In a multi-front war, over a thousand projectiles could be fired into Israel every day
1/5 of all public bomb shelters would not offer proper protection
There are currently “no evacuation plans” for many of the communities that are most threatened by enemy rockets, including Sderot near Gaza, and Kiryat Shmona near Lebanon
About 1 million Israelis gained access to bomb shelters between 2016-2018. However, the amount of functioning public shelters decreased
16% of the 10,657 public bomb shelters were not sufficiently functional in 2015, which went up to 20% of the 12,601 shelters in 2019
Rocket alert system development has significantly increased the home front’s preparedness
Many of Israel’s critical facilities are not prepared to withstand rocket attacks
The IDF reported that the shelter deficiencies are due to a lack of funding, namely due to the instability of Israel’s government over the last year
Israel has been focused on improving its offensive systems, like the Iron Dome, instead of improving its fortifications to safely absorb an attack
The comptroller warned that by failing to provide enough bomb shelters, the government is risking civilian lives
Song For Israel partners with Operation Lifeshield to bring bomb shelters to Israel. So far, Song For Israel has donated five shelters near the Gaza border—mostly to schools in need. To learn more about our bomb shelter projects, please click here. To make a donation to help save lives in Israel, please click here.