Strikes expose bomb shelter shortages inside Israel

 Strikes expose bomb shelter shortages inside Israel

Israel has an extensive network of shelters for when incoming missiles are detected and sirens sound – but not all areas are equal.

These strikes have exposed bomb shelter shortages, particularly in some Palestinian towns inside Israel.

We were in Tamra, an Arab town near to Haifa in the north of Israel, when sirens sounded to signal strikes. The town has no public shelter.

Residents rushed to a makeshift shelter, open to the outside with windows, its bricks not particularly impermeable or thick. It was metres away from a house that had turned to complete rubble after a strike hit on Saturday, killing four Arab-Israeli women from the same family.

If places like this were to suffer a hit, the concrete would almost certainly collapse onto those inside.

We heard loud booms nearby that shook the shelter walls. Families inside were terrified: praying, crying, and clutching each other tighter as each one sounded.

This community’s fear has been exacerbated by both the casualties in their community, bringing the conflict closer to home, and the lack of nearby adequate shelters.

A 2024 report by the Israel Democracy Institute found Israel was not meeting its responsibilities to provide adequate protective structures in Arab cities, saying 46% of residents in the Arab sector live in buildings without protective spaces compared with 26% of Israel’s total population.