Israel is not ready for an all out war on multiple fronts, retired Assistant-Chief Dan Ronen, former director-general of the now closed Home Front Defense Ministry, told the unofficial civilian October 7 probe Sunday, criticizing the division of caring for the home front between different official bodies.
"If tomorrow, fronts with Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran ignite, and if thousands of missiles are fired here everyday, I am not sure Israel has a solution," he said.
The probe was announced by families of those killed on October 7, representatives from the attacked kibbutzim, and civil society groups last month. One of the primary goals of the committee, which is composed of legal and security experts, is to initiate the foundation of a state probe, which was shot down by Israel’s political echelon.
The Home Front Defense ministry was active between 2012 and 2014, and Ronen headed the ministry from July of 2013 to April of 2014. He also served as the head of Israel Police's operations department and the police commander of the northern region.
The ministry was criticized by some as being superfluous and founded because of political considerations rather than actual need, including by Ronen himself.
Speaking to the probe Sunday, Ronen cast doubt on the country's ability to handle escalation on multiple fronts.
"If in The Second Lebanon War, for 34 days there were 100 to 200 rockets every day, this number might be the daily number [of rockets] just from the north. How many will the Iron Dome take down? 1000, 2000, 3000? There is going to be a crazy catastrophe here, and we have no protection," he said."How can it be that for the number one threat on The State of Israel for years, that did not appear yesterday, there is no government plan to shield the citizens of Israel?"
"If the rocket threat is the number one threat on the citizens of Israel, how can it be that The State of Israel is not leading a single sheltering plan?" he asked.
He also said that selters are not a solution, saying that people are killed on the way to and from shelters when alarms don't sound or when they don't know when the missile will hit.
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'Now it's the North; next it will be the entire country'
"Even today, rockets are falling in the north without warning. But tomorrow it won't be the north," he added, saying it will be the whole country.
Ronen said that it was clear from past wars and from October 7, that citizens should be given the authority and power to manage themselves, and asked how it could be that the responsibilities for caring for the home front were not concentrated under one government body. Israel is not ready for an all out war on multiple fronts, retired Assistant-Chief Dan Ronen, former director-general of the now closed Home Front Defense Ministry, told the unofficial civilian October 7 probe Sunday, criticizing the division of caring for the home front between different official bodies.
"If tomorrow, fronts with Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran ignite, and if thousands of missiles are fired here everyday, I am not sure Israel has a solution," he said.
The probe was announced by families of those killed on October 7, representatives from the attacked kibbutzim, and civil society groups last month. One of the primary goals of the committee, which is composed of legal and security experts, is to initiate the foundation of a state probe, which was shot down by Israel’s political echelon.
The Home Front Defense ministry was active between 2012 and 2014, and Ronen headed the ministry from July of 2013 to April of 2014. He also served as the head of Israel Police's operations department and the police commander of the northern region.
Fake ministries
The ministry was criticized by some as being superfluous and founded because of political considerations rather than actual need, including by Ronen himself.
Speaking to the probe Sunday, Ronen cast doubt on the country's ability to handle escalation on multiple fronts.
"If in The Second Lebanon War, for 34 days there were 100 to 200 rockets every day, this number might be the daily number [of rockets] just from the north. How many will the Iron Dome take down? 1000, 2000, 3000? There is going to be a crazy catastrophe here, and we have no protection," he said."How can it be that for the number one threat on The State of Israel for years, that did not appear yesterday, there is no government plan to shield the citizens of Israel?"
"If the rocket threat is the number one threat on the citizens of Israel, how can it be that The State of Israel is not leading a single sheltering plan?" he asked.
He also said that selters are not a solution, saying that people are killed on the way to and from shelters when alarms don't sound or when they don't know when the missile will hit.
"Even today, rockets are falling in the north without warning. But tomorrow it won't be the north," he added, saying it will be the whole country.
Ronen said that it was clear from past wars and from October 7, that citizens should be given the authority and power to manage themselves, and asked how it could be that the responsibilities for caring for the home front were not concentrated under one government body.