Israel to introduce new standards for home bomb shelters

The change follows incidents during the 12-day war with Iran in June, in which Israeli civilians believed they had secured the door, only for it to be partially unlocked and blown inward by the force of an explosion.

By JNS

The IDF Home Front Command is set to introduce stricter construction standards for bomb shelters in homes as part of lessons learned from the recent war, Army Radio reported on Thursday.

According to the report, the new standards are intended to address the evolving nature of threats facing Israel, including missile attacks and cross-border terrorist assaults.

The regulations will apply to future construction and, in some cases, allow upgrades to existing homes.

One of the key updates is a requirement that bomb shelter doors clearly indicate whether they are locked.

New doors are to feature a red-and-green visual marking system showing the locked or unlocked status.

The change follows incidents during the 12-day war with Iran in June, in which Israeli civilians believed they had secured the door, only for it to be partially unlocked and blown inward by the force of an explosion.

Another change calls for thickening shelters’ internal walls, after damage assessments from Iranian ballistic missile attacks found that when a projectile strikes a structure, interior walls function like external walls, absorbing far greater force than previously thought.

A third and final update stems from the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault.

IDF investigations revealed that standard shelter doors are not resistant to small arms fire, leading to injuries when terrorists’ bullets penetrated.

The new regulations call for the installation of bullet-resistant doors and will also allow retrofit solutions that can be added to existing shelter doors to provide ballistic protection, according to Army Radio.

The new standard is expected to take effect next year, the report said.

A mamad—a Hebrew acronym for “merchav mugan dirati” or “apartment-based protected space”—is a reinforced room built into modern homes and apartments, designed to serve as a bomb shelter during attacks.

Mandated by building regulations since the early 1990s, the mamad has thick concrete walls, a heavy steel door and a sealed window, allowing Israeli civilians to reach a shelter within seconds of an air-raid siren.

Iranian missiles killed 30 civilians and one off-duty IDF soldier during the June 13–24 war, while wounding more than 3,000 and displacing 13,000.

According to official Home Front Command assessments, most fatalities occurred when ballistic missiles hit people who were outside protected rooms or public shelters, including victims caught in open areas, vehicles, or older buildings without designated reinforced areas.