Israeli Shelter Guide

Guidance on finding, preparing and using shelters in Israel during rocket and missile alerts. It is based on publicly available Pikud Ha'Oref (Home Front Command) guidance as of August 2026. All life-safety numbers below should be cross-checked against the live Pikud Ha'Oref site or the 104 hotline before acting on them in a real emergency.

Description

Helps users:

• Identify which type of protected space they have (mamad, mamak, maman, miklat) and what to do in buildings that have none.
• Look up their region's time-to-shelter (immediate / 15 / 30 / 45 / 60 / 90 seconds).
• Understand the multi-stage early warning system Pikud Ha'Oref publishes for missile fire (preliminary advisory, then alert, then release message), including the separate advisory for fire from Lebanon.
• Prepare an emergency kit (ערכת חירום) according to Pikud Ha'Oref recommendations.
• Apply the correct protocol when caught in a vehicle, outdoors, or in a building without a mamad.
• Navigate the process for inspecting or building a private mamad with a licensed engineer.

Shelter Types

Israel has four types of protected spaces, each designated by a Hebrew acronym: