Without a major improvement in the civilian readiness, the government's room to maneuver in the realm of managing the future conflicts against Hamas and Hezbollah will also be impaired
National Home Front Exercise "Solid Stand": Doubts concerning Civilian Preparedness for an Emergency
The "Solid Stand" nation-wide home front exercise conducted by the Home Front Command (HFC) took place this year on the third day of the general staff exercise, which was held on March 11-15, 2018. The exercise dealt with a multi-front conflict, with the northern front – Syria and Lebanon, through Hezbollah – representing the central threat to the Israeli civilian home front. The exercise was intended to advance cooperation between the Home Front Command and the various emergency and rescue organizations, so as to enhance the public's readiness for war. In practice, the volume of information that was delivered to the civilian sector was very limited. Consequently it was reported that "following the first siren, the rescue call centers were flooded with questions from terrified people who knew nothing about the drill" (Tal Lev-Ram, Maariv, March 14, 2018).