In the wake of a nationwide, weeklong emergency exercise in which sirens and responsiveness were tested across Israel, OC Home Front Command Major General Yair Golan said gaps exist in the siren's performance. Golan said 219 complaints were filed by people saying they did not hear one of the 1,500 sirens which were tested on Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Golan says the IDF is looking into ways of remedying the problem, including the possibility of sending SMS messages to all cell phones in the event of a missile attack, using radio, TV, and Internet to transmit an alert, in addition to the sounding of air raid sirens.
Regarding the cabinet's recent decision to redistribute gas masks, Golan said it could take up to five years until the entire public was re-supplied, and said production, distribution, and budget would have to be calculated to smoothly implement the decision.