It’s not just for rockets anymore. The IDF has decided to implement a tunnel alert system for Israeli communities around Gaza, according to Yediot Achronot.
The alert will sound exactly the same as the “red alert” for rockets, but in order for citizens to know the attack is from below and not above, residents will receive an SMS stating: “Due to an infiltration by terrorists, residents are asked to lock themselves in their homes with the lights off until further notice.”
In addition, local security personnel will receive additional notifications.
While the intentions are good, the idea has a few obvious flaws, the most basic is the assumption that everyone will have a phone on them at all times, including children in the park, people on Shabbat and anyone who simply forgot their phone on the kitchen table so it can recharge after the battery died.
In addition, it seems quite likely that in the critical and stressful 10-15 second window Gaza border residents have, civilians will start running to the bomb shelters when they hear the siren, only to get an SMS telling them to turn around and run back home, leaving them exposed and confused.
Perhaps the most obvious flaw in this entire plan, is that Israel simply didn’t get rid of Hamas the last time around, which would have made all these rocket and tunnel alerts completely superfluous.