Sirens sound across Israel in state's largest civilian drill

A rising and falling siren sounded Tuesday morning at 11 A.M. for a minute and a half as part of this year's Home Front Command national exercise, with all citizens encouraged to practice entering their protected rooms.

The exercise was meant to raise the public's preparedness for possible missile attacks on the country. The drill, named Turning Point 3, was run by the Home Front Command and the National Emergency Authority. It was the largest ever emergency exercise the nation has undertaken.

Tuesday's siren and secure room drill tested the national system of 2,300 sirens.

In addition to the Home Front Command's request for all citizens to enter their secure rooms for 10 minutes, all educational institutions also participated in the drill. All students were instructed to enter their schools' designated secure rooms, shelters or other protected spaces, and afterward the students were shown a special broadcast prepared by the command specifically for them.

In addition, all Israel Defense Forces soldiers practiced the protected space drill, and all workplaces were requested to prepare protected areas for all employees to participate in the drill, if possible. Israelis were asked to prepare a secure room, shelter or other protected space in advance of the drill.

Essential services continued to function despite the exercise. The Home Front Command's instructions stated, "If there is an unreasonable disruption to your routine, you may continue with your regular activity. In any case, the location of the protected space must be known and clearly marked."

Vehicular traffic, including public transportation and private cars, continued as usual even during the sounding of the siren.

Tuesday's drill is only one part of the national exercise, which started Sunday and will continue through Thursday. During the first two days government offices, rescue services and emergency authorities were primarily tested. Tuesday, local authorities are joining the exercise. In particular, many municipalities in the center of the country will practice putting thousands of emergency volunteers to work in their neighborhoods, and a number of schools will practice hosting those who would need to be evacuated from their homes.

The Home Front's rescue battalions will also take part in the exercise, practicing rescuing victims from a building that was demolished especially for the event. In Eilat, emergency forces will simulate a mass disaster caused by a chemical weapons attack on a school.

Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, who is responsible for the exercise, said Monday, "Every citizen in Israel should know that in every place in the country, at any time, an emergency can happen."