The Israel Defense Forces’ Home Front Command on Tuesday summarized its operations during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, having deployed some 26,000 reservists across the country for rapid emergency services.
In total, more than 21,000 alerts of incoming missiles and other threats have been activated through the Command’s alert systems, the military said in a statement.
The reservists, including around 50 battalions specializing in rescue and light infantry, operated at more than 170 locations across the nation and have taken part in rescuing efforts at more than 25 different sites impacted by missile hits, the IDF continued.
The average response time was approximately 15 minutes, according to the military.
The Home Front Command managed a wide range of logistical assets, including some 120 heavy machinery vehicles, 640 towing pickup trucks, 430 trucks, 20 cranes and 70 ambulances.
The statement went on to read that the Command’s Information Center (hotline 104) recorded around 300 million visits to the National Emergency Portal website and handled more than one million civilian inquiries.
Furthermore, about 5 million people activated the Home Front Command app on their phones for alerts and guidelines.
With International Ben Gurion Airport closed since the war broke out on June 13, a call center was established on June 19 as part of “Operation Safe Return” to help citizens stranded abroad to return home. The center was operated by the Command’s Alon Headquarters and received around 11,000 phone calls and an additional 6,000 inquiries via Whatsapp, according to the IDF.
The operation aided more than 7,200 Israelis to return aboard five passenger vessels that disembarked at the Ashdod Port, the military said. More than 4,700 foreign nationals managed to leave the country.
The IDF’s LOTAR Counter-Terrorism Unit searched buildings and carried out complex rescue missions, the military noted.
Troops from the Oketz Unit also joined searching efforts for missing persons and casualties, aided by dogs and specialized techniques, the IDF said.
Iran’s ballistic missiles claimed the lives of 29 civilians, including a seven-year-old who arrived with her family from Ukraine to receive medical treatment for cancer. Four of her family members—her mother, grandmother and two cousins, ages nine and 13—were killed as well, according to Ynet News.
Moments before the ceasefire came into effect on Tuesday morning at 7 a.m., Iran killed four Beersheva residents in a direct hit on a residential building.
Israel’s “Operation Rising Lion” commenced in the early morning hours of June 13, preemptively striking air defense systems, military leaders and nuclear scientists, as well as nuclear facilities, in Iran.
The Islamic Republic in response launched approximately 550 ballistic missiles at Israeli territory, with most intercepted by Israeli and American air defense systems, according to Hebrew media.
Out of 1,000 drones fired from Iran, only one managed to hit a residential building.
The Israeli military destroyed in Iran 80 anti-aircraft batteries, along with approximately 250 missile launchers out of an estimated 700 to 750, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported.
Most of Iran’s military and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leadership was decapitated, the report added.