IDF orders Karmiel businesses to close over weekend

IDF Home Front Command opens toll-free information hotline at #1207.

By YAAKOV KATZ, JPOST.COM STAFF
homefront command 88 (photo credit: )
homefront command 88
(photo credit: )
The Home Front Command on Friday night ordered businesses and clubs in Karmiel to remain closed throughout the weekend. Katyusha alerts rang throughout Karmiel on Friday, sending residents into bomb shelters. In light of the situation, the Home Front Command has decided to operate a silent radio wave in the following frequencies: FM 102.2, 98.5, 95.7. This enables those keep the Sabbath to leave the radio turned on and listen to emergency announcements. The Home Front Command has opened an information center at command headquarters in Ramle. The center can be reached at toll-free number 1207. All residents of Haifa, the Krayot region, Tirat Hacarmel and Acre were instructed to stay inside their homes and to remain near large buildings if they must venture outside Friday. Residents in cars in those areas were ordered to leave their vehicles and enter protected rooms inside buildings. The IDF also ordered northern residents to stay away from outer walls and windows in their homes. Should residents of the north hear an explosion or a siren, they are ordered to immediately enter bomb shelters or an inner room in their homes. "Concrete problems and questions will be given concrete answers," promised OC Home Front Command Maj.-Gen. Yitzhak Gershon. Earlier Friday, the Home Front Command ordered all business and storeowners in the north, except those in communities on the northern border, to open their businesses on Friday to allow residents to prepare for Shabbat. The IDF also announced that residents of Haifa, Krayot, Acre, Tirat Carmel and the Karmiel could leave their homes to purchase groceries and other necessary supplies for the weekend. Families were recommended to send out one member only and were told to continue following the media for further instructions. Residents of Nahariya were permitted to leave their shelters until 12:00 noon Friday and all northern border residents were instructed to remain in shelters as much as possible. On Thursday, the Home Front Command ordered residents of communities north of the Amiad-Acre Road to remain close to their homes throughout the day and to pay attention to media outlets. Earlier Thursday, the Home Front Command ordered all residents of the following communities to move into shelters immediately: Yesod Hama'aleh, Mahanayim, Mishmar Hayarden, Hulta, Sde Eliezer, Ayelet Hashahar and Gadot. Hikers near the confrontation line communities in the north were ordered to head home. The Command also asked that events planned in Kiryat Shemona and Shlomi on Thursday and over the weekend be canceled. Residents of the border communities have been under orders to stay in their shelters since Wednesday. Gershon said that the number of shelters in the North should suffice for the residents. The Home Front Command recently inspected the shelters in the area and found them to be adequately equipped and in proper condition. In addition to regular forces, the Command has enlisted a company of search and rescue officers to assist in rescue operations that might arise. "Together with the police, the fire department and Magen David Adom, the Home Front Command can provide an efficient and professional response to any incident that might occur," Gershon promised. He added that he could not foresee a need to evacuate communities in the North even if rocket attacks worsen. "There's no need to panic, just to obey the instructions of the Home Front Command. Stay close to the shelters and you will be okay." Gershon told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday morning that the farthest point Katyushas had reached was Mahanayim, some 25 kilometers from the border. "The IDF is expanding and deepening its operations in Lebanon," he said. "This will not be over soon. We need to have patience and restraint to be able to achieve our goals." The Home Front Command will continue to issue orders to residents through the media.