Sirens to go off nationwide in IDF drill on Wednesday

Air raid sirens will sound in cities and towns across the country tomorrow as part of a national home front preparedness exercise being conducted by the Israel Defense Forces and Defense Ministry.

The first round of alerts, in towns and villages, will be heard from 10:05 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., and the second round from 6:05 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. in larger cities. In addition to sirens, messages will be sent out through the IDF Home Front Command application and alerts will be heard on the radio, television stations and on some websites. In the case of an actual emergency, the air raid sirens will sound twice.

There is no need to enter bomb shelters during the exercise, but the Home Front Command recommends learning about what to do if you hear an air raid siren.

In light of improved intelligence or more accurate detection systems, some cities and towns have been given updated warning times — how long residents of those areas have to enter a bomb shelter before impact — or have been split into multiple warning zones, meaning people in the eastern part of the city may not have to enter a bomb shelter, while those in the west do. The exercise will mostly take place in these municipalities, the IDF Home Front Command says.