Read this now, not when the siren goes off
A siren gives you seconds. Not minutes, and nowhere near enough time to unlock your phone and search for what to do.
So read it today, then screenshot it. Signal has a way of failing exactly when you need it most.
The three things, in order
One. Get to the nearest protected space within the time your area has.
Two. Close the door and the windows.
Three. Stay inside for a full 10 minutes from the siren or the explosion, then come out — unless official instructions say otherwise.
That last one is what people forget. Debris from interceptions falls *after* the bang. Walking out to look is one of the most dangerous things you can do.
How much time do you have?
It depends where you are. The closer to a border, the less.
Tel Aviv is around 90 seconds. Parts of the north near the border have as little as 15 to 30 seconds, which means there is no time to think — only to move.
Ask your employer or supervisor on your first day: how many seconds does this area get, and where is the nearest shelter? Do not wait for a siren to find out.
Where you are decides what you do
In a building with a safe room or shelter
Go in, close the door and windows.
**Safe room — ממ"ד — mamad.** A reinforced concrete room inside the apartment, with a steel door and steel window shutter.
**Public shelter — מקלט — miklat.** A communal shelter for the building or neighbourhood, usually below ground.
In a building with neither
Go to the building's internal stairwell, climb to the second floor, and stay there.
If you cannot get out in time, move to the most enclosed part of the room — an inner hallway or entry area, whatever has the fewest windows and outside walls. Sit down against an interior wall.
Outdoors, in a field, or under plastic sheeting
If there is a building you can reach in the time you have, get inside it.
If there is not: **lie flat on the ground, face down, and cover your head with both hands.** Stay there for the full 10 minutes.
A greenhouse is not shelter. Neither is a tree. Flat open ground where you are lying down is safer than standing under a plastic roof.
In a vehicle
Pull over, get out, and go into a building if one is reachable in the time you have.
If there is no building, get out and lie flat on the ground beside the road, hands over your head.
If you cannot get out safely, stay in the car, get your head below window level, and wait 10 minutes.
Words you will hear
**Air raid alert — אזעקה — aza'aka**
**Red Colour — צבע אדום — tzeva adom.** Literally "red colour"; it is the name of the alert system.
**Safe room — ממ"ד — mamad**
**Public shelter — מקלט — miklat**
The app and the numbers
The Home Front Command's official app alerts you based on where you are. Search for **Home Front Command** in your app store.
Good news for you: it runs in English, alongside Hebrew, Arabic and Russian. Set it to English and turn notifications on. The alert sound works the same in every language.
**104** — Home Front Command hotline. Ask them the warning time for your area and where your nearest shelter is.
**101** ambulance · **100** police · **102** fire
Save your own embassy's emergency number too. Most embassies in Israel run an after-hours line for their citizens, and it will be the fastest route to help in your own language.
Five things to sort out in advance
Know where your nearest shelter is — from your accommodation *and* from wherever you work. Walk it once.
Know how many seconds your area gets.
Keep your phone charged, and keep a charged power bank.
Keep water, a torch and any regular medication in the shelter.
Agree in advance, with your colleagues and with your family, how you will send an "I'm safe" message. A short text gets through when calls do not, because everyone rings at once.
Afterwards
Wait the full 10 minutes before leaving the protected space.
If you find debris or fragments, do not go near them and do not pick anything up. Call 100.
Then message home and say you are safe. The people waiting for you always see the news before you do, and they will sit staring at a phone until they hear from you.
One line on a night like that is worth more to them than anything else. Q mobile keeps you connected across Israel and back home, with support in your own language.
