Civilian authorities in northern Israel carry out drills, prepare for all-out war with Hezbollah

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Although an Israeli security official has publicly played down the possibility of any imminent full-scale war with Hezbollah, civilian, electrical and medical facilities in northern Israel are preparing for any scenario.

The mayor of Haifa, Israel’s northern port city, has recommended that bomb shelters be prepared, as a huge barrage of around 100 rockets was fired by the Hezbollah forces towards northern Israel on Tuesday night. There was damage caused in Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee, but no injuries were reported.

Hezbollah began attacking northern Israel on Oct. 8, following the Hamas invasion and terror attack on Israel's southern border communities near Gaza on Oct. 7.

Despite the mass evacuation of 80,000 civilians from their homes, several people have been killed, including one couple who was driving home with their children on the Golan Heights.

Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav told Israeli local radio on Monday that his city is preparing for a potential all-out war with Hezbollah forces. Haifa is only 45 km (28 miles) from the border with Lebanon.

“We’re doing everything so that the city itself and the residents are safe and know what to do in the case of falling missiles – and they are more accurate missiles than those of 2006,” Yahav said.

“We are now changing the entire method of building parking lots. We’re preparing them for a long stay because according to estimates, we’ll be sitting in shelters and parking lots for at least four consecutive days. That requires preparation – for example, installing bathrooms. We issued instructions to build them in places where new buildings are being constructed.”

The city of Haifa is reportedly preparing 16 underground parking lots to serve as bomb shelters during a large conflict. The local underground train system will reportedly be used as a massive shelter, and city schools will be converted into temporary housing if residential buildings are struck by missiles.

On Tuesday, the Israel Electric Company began a 10-day drill simulating power outages in the event of an escalation, Ynet News reported. The large-scale exercise will prepare for scenarios like Hezbollah rockets hitting power lines and gas rigs.

On July 9, Sky News reported that Haifa was working on converting a subterranean car park into a massive blood bank and hospital. This coverage followed an Israeli Channel 12 news report that Haifa’s Rambam Hospital has been preparing for an extreme scenario involving missile attacks every four minutes for 50-60 consecutive days.

The Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital was first opened in 2014. After the brutal Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel, the hospital quickly set up the facility, which can treat 2,000 patients and has 24 operating rooms.

According to hospital director, Prof. Michael Halberthal, the entire medical center can relocate underground within eight hours. Additionally, a dedicated train would be ready to transfer the wounded to central Israeli hospitals in the event of mass casualties.

In January, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant conducted a comprehensive civilian situational assessment in the north, i24 News reported at the time.

Both Gallant and IDF Chief-of-Staff Herzi Halevi have increasingly been discussing military readiness to address Hezbollah attacks.

“We are in high-intensity combat in the north,” Halevi said in a statement on Sunday. “Along with increasing achievements in degrading Hezbollah, we do not forget for a moment the plight of the residents of the north in the last nine months; we grieve at all times for the dead and injured from Hezbollah attacks.

“In the last few days, I was in one of the communities close to the border, of course not for the first time. I saw the damage, I met with the leadership there, I heard difficult things from them - we translate this difficulty into determination in combat, and later into real solutions and the return of the residents in security to their homes. We are ready and preparing for the next stage in Lebanon.”

Speaking with i24 News on Tuesday evening, security expert Shiri Fein-Grossman said that the current focus remains on Gaza, with the military goals in the territory reaching a “critical point” and the morale of the soldiers very high, determined to locate hostages. She said she does not believe a war with Hezbollah was imminent.

Her comments came as Israeli officials publicly stated that one of Hamas leaders who orchestrated the Oct. 7 massacre, Mohammed Deif, was likely assassinated in a precision strike on Saturday. His death remains unconfirmed at this point.