General: The Threat

1. The Home Front Command is one of the four commands of the IDF. The Home Front Command is divided into five regions (congruent with the regions of the Israel Police), and consists of an array of search and rescue personnel, both in their compulsory army service and in the reserves.

2. The functions of the Home Front Command include:

• Being a professional organization in the fields of search and rescue, protection, and hazardous materials.
• Directing the public and emergency personnel in the field of civil defense (via various information channels).
• Helping to strengthen and maintain national resilience in emergencies (by helping find solutions to problems, calming the public).
•  Handling search and rescue missions in Israel (and throughout the world). The search and rescue personnel of the Home Front Command are deployed even now in threatened areas at high alert to respond whenever necessary.

3. The Home Front Command acts jointly with other emergency organizations – the Israel Police, Magen David Adom, firefighters, local authorities and government ministries – in order to save lives, minimize damage, and make sure that life returns to normal as fast as possible.

Hezbollah has a variety of armaments, including anti-tank missiles, mortars, Katyushas, systems for launching long-range missiles, and more.

•  The Katyusha is a surface-to-surface rocket.
• Rocket structure: The rocket is small, and consists of a warhead containing the explosive, a body containing the fuel necessary for the rocket flight, and a tail with a motor. The tail stabilizes the rocket during flight.
• Both the Katyusha and the Qassam are types of rockets. The difference between them is that the Katyusha is a standard weapon manufactured by countries such as Russia and China, while the Qassam is improvised and operated by terrorist organizations. In addition, the precision of the Qassam as compared to that of the Katyusha is relatively low.

Up to a few kilograms.

No. Unlike a missile, it is not possible to insert unconventional means of warfare into the rocket’s warhead.

Based on our estimates, Hezbollah has the capability of reaching the center of the country. The security forces have the capability to cope with threats of various ranges.

1. There are various kinds of surface-to-surface missiles and rockets, but, generally speaking, the differences are as follows:

•  Range (the missile is long-range, the rocket is usually shorter-range).
• Guidance system (the missile is guided, the rocket is not).
• The amount of explosives they carry (the missile can carry hundreds of kilograms of shattering explosives).
• The time it takes to ready a rocket for launching is relatively short (can be achieved using improvised means), while launching a missile is done from a launcher and vehicle, and requires advance preparation.

Terrorist organizations fire rockets at their chosen target from a number of different positions. They also change these positions with great frequency, and are constantly preparing new ones.
The IDF works to locate the sources of rocket fire, and to strike at various terrorist bases of activity.

In some instances, our defense forces identify Katyusha fire and issues a warning (siren), but in some instances, they do not, and then the siren is activated after the firing (false warnings are a possibility).

Not very. A rocket is not very sophisticated. It does not have a guidance system that leads it to its target.

No. Neither the weather nor the time of day affects rocket fire effectiveness.

1. There are two main differences between a rocket and a missile:

• Accuracy: A missile is more accurate than a rocket (because of the guidance system with which it is equipped), and therefore can be aimed at a specific target with a high probability that it will land where intended.
• Range: A missile has a greater range than a rocket.
  

 A rocket might penetrate a concrete structure, but not cause it to collapse. Furthermore, a rocket might penetrate plaster walls and unstable buildings, and cause damage.

The Israel Police, together with the IDF and various emergency personnel (firefighters, Magen David Adom), are all responsible for responding