The incident has sparked widespread concern across Israel
and intensified public anger towards the government amid reports that bunkers
are failing to withstand strikes from heavy missiles.
The
Israel Hayom daily paper quoted the Israeli Home Front Command as stating that
approximately 40% of Tel Aviv residents live in buildings without shelters that
meet current safety standards, and that tens of thousands of older buildings in
the city lack proper protective infrastructure.
Tel Aviv and Haifa are already facing a severe shortage of
bomb shelters amid escalating Iranian attacks. Israel Hayom quoted residents in
the capital as saying they "have no shelter", adding that neighbors
"are closing their shelter doors to us."
The
shelter crisis gained renewed urgency after a spokesperson for the Iranian army
declared that "shelters are no longer safe" and urged Israelis to
evacuate all territories.
Israel's 1951 Civil Defense Law mandates that all
residential and commercial buildings must include bomb shelters, although
multiple buildings may share a single shelter.
Arab communities within the Green Line, the 1949
international boundary between Lebanon and Mandatory Palestine, also face
significant gaps in preparedness against rocket attacks, largely due to
longstanding neglect.
This
includes a lack of adequate shelters and what many view as clear discrimination
in the Israeli air defense system, which often designates Arab towns as
"open areas," effectively excluding them from active protection
during emergencies.
There is also a noted lack of compliance among some Arab
citizens with Home Front Command guidelines, further complicating emergency
response efforts.
On Saturday, Israeli air defenses failed to intercept an
Iranian missile, which hit a building in the city of Tamra. Four were killed in
that strike, and several others were injured.
Tamra's
Mayor Musa Abu Rumi told international media that only 40% of the town's 37,000
residents have access to safe rooms or adequate shelters. He also noted that
Tamra lacks public bunkers, which are common in most Israeli cities and towns.
In conflict zones like Iran, Lebanon and Yemen, authorities
often rely on metro stations and schools as makeshift shelters, as
purpose-built fortified rooms are scarce.
