Officers from the United States, Greece, France and Jordan, 23 in number, are in Israel to study the nation’s homefront and its preparedness system against attack, earthquake and hazardous materials incidents.

The officers visited Sderot over the weekend, seeking a firsthand look at the city’s level or preparedness.

As they were taken around by Homefront Command officials and met with local leaders, they were shocked to learn that the city was hit with over 5,000 rockets over 7 years, and the attacks were not brought to a halt. The colonel added they were shocked to see the schools and bus stops were fortified against rocket attacks, explaining “they were simply shocked”. They failed to understand how the city was turned into a fortress rather than ending the attacks.

As part of ongoing efforts to maintain the highest level of proficiency, a team of Homefront Command officers traveled to the United States a number of weeks ago to take part in training exercises to rescue people trapped underground. They operated in a cave with explosions, smoke and fire conditions to simulate difficult underground excavations and rescue during a state of an emergency.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)