Israeli homefront is not ready for war, says head of local governments council

The head of the Centre for Local Government in Israel has sent a letter asking for an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers to discuss the “sorry state” of the homefront ahead of a possible regional conflict.

Shlomo Bohbot is expected to tell the prime minister that Israel is patently unprepared for any large-scale missile attack, according to Army Radio, and that efforts to coordinatie teams between government offices and local authorities are necessary in order to correct mass deficiencies.

The lack of available gas masks, particularly those fitted for children and the elderly, is one problem that Bohbot is likely to raise in the meeting.

The local governments council is seeking Netanyahu’s personal assistance in supervising and expediting a national effort to improve preparedness.

In recent months, chatter regarding a possible Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear program has been building, with the prime minister this week sounding exasperated with an American administration that refuses to draw “red lines” for the Islamic Republic vis-a-vis its nuclear aspirations.

A chorus of Israeli politicians and leaders in the intelligence community have warned against a unilateral Israeli strike, arguing that the backlash from such an attack could be devastating.