Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai on Saturday told The Jerusalem Post that the threat of a ballistic missile attack by Israel’s Muslim neighbors in the near future is very real.
Vilnai made his remarks in response to concerns over a massive nationwide five-day civil-defense drill that began on Sunday.
The exercise will reach its climax on Tuesday, when air-raid sirens will sound throughout Israel and commercial buildings and the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv will be evacuated. Private citizens have been asked to participate in the drill by entering their bomb shelters.
Dubbed “Turning Point 3,” the drill is the largest of its kind since the Second Lebanon War in 2006, during which thousands of missiles rained down on the northern half of Israel.