Vilna'i: War can erupt any day, and Israelis need to know this

Deputy defense minister tells mayors entire country within range of Hamas, Hizbullah missiles.

By YAAKOV KATZ
matan vilnai 248 88 aj (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
matan vilnai 248 88 aj
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
The entire country is within range of Hamas and Hizbullah missiles, and people need to be prepared for the possibility that war can erupt any day, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i said Thursday. Vilna'i spoke at a gathering of mayors and local council leaders ahead of a nationwide exercise scheduled to take place in June. The aim of the drill is to prepare local councils and municipalities, as well as regular civilians, who will be asked to enter bomb shelters or secure rooms during a siren that will sound at 11 a.m. on June 2. "The Israeli home front will be part of any future war," Vilna'i said. "Everyone needs to know that there is a chance in the next war that a missile will fall in their backyard. In contrast to the past, this time we are not scared of preparing the entire population for this possibility." During the exercise, which will officially start on May 31 at government offices, 252 local councils and municipalities will open "crisis rooms" and will be asked to respond to various emergency scenarios. The exercise - called Turning Point 3 - will be the third home front exercise to be held since the Second Lebanon War in 2006 and the founding of the Defense Ministry's National Emergency Administration (NEA), which is responsible for setting national emergency standards.