Nationwide Drill for Rocket Attacks

The Israeli Home Front Command announced it will hold a nationwide war drill from Sunday until Wednesday, based on a scenario in which more than 230,000 rockets and missiles would be fired at Israel, from Haifa in the north to the southern coast.

The abovementioned number reflects the IDF’s estimate of the actual combined ballistic arsenal arrayed against Israel from Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas.

In a multifront war, the IDF expects that the country could be faced with a barrage of 1,500 to 2,000 rockets per day. Of those, some 95 percent would be lightweight, short-range projectiles with ranges of no more than about 30 miles. The remaining 5 per cent of incoming projectiles would be of the long-range variety, and easier to intercept, security officials said.

They stressed, however, that only one percent of all incoming threats would score direct hits on buildings, most falling in open areas; others would be intercepted by Israel’s multi-tiered missile defense system, which includes the Arrow, Magic Wand, Iron Dome, Patriot and others.

They estimate that 350 to 400 civilians would be killed, and 10,000 to 15,000 houses and factories would be damaged or destroyed.

In recent weeks, the Home Front Command held a drill in which it practiced calling up reservist search-and-rescue personnel to mock destruction zones. In the event of conflict with Hezbollah, of the 750,000 Israelis who may vacate their homes from northern regions, the country will be able to absorb 95,000 of them in hotels and kibbutz homes.

A nationwide air raid siren has been schedule for Tuesday evening at 7:05 p.m.