So far some 2,000 Command reservists have been recruited

Municipality heads within 75-km range from Gaza Strip are instructed to prepare their communities for 50 days of conflict

By Yoav Zitun

Home Front Command asks local authorities to prepare for seven-week fighting period: In discussions held between Home Front Command Chief Major-General Eyal Eisenberg, regional commanders and heads of local authorities in the center and in the south, authorities have been instructed to prepare for a seven-week period of combat as part of Operation Pillar of Defense and to prepare emergency supplies, accordingly.

IDF prepares armed forces near Gaza border – Photo:REUTERS/Ronen Zvulu

Some supplies were prepared in advance. The Home Front Command estimates that terror organizations in the Gaza Strip are still capable of launching long-range rockets, even further than a 75-kilometer range.

The Home Front Command sharpened instructions for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area and southern residents and, accordingly, communities located in a range of between 40-75 kilometers from the Gaza Strip must enter nearby, protected spaces the moment blasts or sirens are heard.

If there is no protected space in the vicinity, residents should enter the nearest structure or stairwell. In light of the long-range rockets fired over the past few days, these instructions apply to all communities within a 75-kilometer range and not only in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.

Israeli reserves soldiers enlisting for Operation Pillar of Defense
Photo by Ilan Assayag

Until now, 2,000 ground reservists have been enlisted to the Home Front Command. Beyond emergency and rescue team activities at locations where missiles have landed, the Command’s soldiers have been filling various duties such as providing reinforcements at hospitals, opening baby-sitting services and renovating shelters.

Shelters – on demand

Due to the escalation, the Home Front Command has been enlarging protected areas and dispersing portable shelters in southern communities. Instruction has yet to be given to the Tel Aviv metropolitan area authorities to open public shelters, but authorities have been opening shelters upon resident demands in various neighborhoods, as residents turn to the municipal 106 call center.

Tel Aviv residents seeking shelter during rocket alert – Photo: Daniel Bar-On

The Home Front Command has not yet been caught by surprise by the rocket firing range, firing rate and the like. Until now, over 550 missile landings have been counted, but only 26 of them in built-up areas.

The commander of the Home Front Command has released orders to the Ashdod Port and to factories with hazardous materials in the south. According to these orders, hazardous materials must be protected and removed.

Thousands of reservists have received emergency enlistment orders and, over the past few hours, have been trickling into the gathering and enlisting point in the south. Hundreds of military trucks with supplies, ammunition, water and gasoline, alongside tank-carriers, armored-personnel carriers and jeeps are filling the Gaza vicinity roads in a sight that has not been seen in the area since Operation Cast Lead.

View original Ynet publication at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4306834,00.html