The civilian front can expect to be challenged significantly in any future conflict with Hamas, and even more so, Hezbollah. The recent events deep within Israeli territory highlight the broad inherent risk of a systemic disruption due to rocket attacks on the civilian domain during a broad and protracted conflict, with a danger of multiple, simultaneous events that stretch the capacity of response systems. Israel was wise to come up with its overall concept for a national response to this complex challenge, interweaving military and offensive and defensive options with civilian response mechanisms. That said, the problem evident in past rounds of fighting was that this doctrine has been only partially implemented. Still lacking – mainly in the civilian sphere – is an investment of resources in building up the collaborative response systems and bolstering preparedness at the local level. In principle, this is a matter not just of saving lives, but also of ensuring a rapid response capacity for a swift rebound and recovery from disruptions of national security in the civilian sphere. This in turn allows the government to make considered decisions even under difficult stress conditions – both external and internal.
