IDF: Even after two Iran wars, it will take 30 years to provide safe rooms nationwide

Lead

The IDF Home Front Command said on Thursday that even after two major wars with Iran and years of missile fire on multiple fronts, it expects it will take over 30 years to provide safe rooms nationwide. Currently, only 67% of the population has safe rooms, according to the military, which projects the pace of adding safe spaces at about 1% per year.

The assessment comes as the military released detailed figures on the impact of the recent conflict with Iran, including the number of homes damaged, casualties, and the scale of the Home Front Command's mobilization.

Coverage Comparison

Two reports from the Jerusalem Post, both published on May 28, 2026, cover the IDF Home Front Command's statements. The first focuses on the humanitarian toll of the conflict, detailing the number of wounded, killed, and damaged residences. The second highlights the lack of progress on safe room provision, quoting the military's projection that full nationwide protection is decades away.

Both articles draw on the same IDF briefing, but they emphasize different aspects: one underscores the immediate devastation and the military's response, while the other stresses the long-term vulnerability and the absence of a plan to accelerate protection.

Key Claims

According to the Jerusalem Post's report on the IDF Home Front Command's Thursday briefing, 6,473 Israeli residences were damaged sufficiently during the Iran war that residents lost their homes. The report notes that this figure includes only the worst property damage incidents, as over 28,000 property damage claims had been filed with the government by the time of the April 7 ceasefire.

The IDF said that on the home front, 683 Israelis were wounded—22 seriously, 46 moderately, and 615 lightly—along with 24 killed as of the ceasefire. The report also notes that over 7,500 Israelis were hospitalized during the conflict, suggesting the IDF's wound count may only include certain severity levels.

The Home Front Command called up around 45 battalions at its height, totaling about 25,000 soldiers, or 84% of its maximum call-up capacity, including reservists. Normally, the command may use as few as around 10 battalions. After two weeks, the IDF reduced the call-up to around 17 battalions.

The military stated that its rescue or engineering staff arrived at around 1,200 locations damaged by Iranian attacks, with many sites suffering minor damage from shrapnel or cluster munition bomblets.

On the safe room issue, the IDF said that only 67% of the population currently has safe rooms. The projected growth in safe spaces is about 1% per year, meaning full coverage would take over 30 years. The military's most ambitious scenario would be to increase growth to 3% per year, which would still leave large parts of the country vulnerable for at least 11 years.

The IDF also stated that there is currently no plan, even under consideration, to achieve full nationwide protection within two to five years. The military's message was that no one is willing to carry out large-scale emergency rebuilding to add safe rooms, which would require large-scale temporary displacement and demolitions of existing unprotected residences.

Perspectives

The Jerusalem Post's first report frames the conflict's impact in terms of civilian suffering and the Home Front Command's humanitarian efforts. It emphasizes the scale of damage and the military's mobilization, attributing the devastation to Iranian aggression.

The second report takes a more critical tone, highlighting the lack of progress on safe room provision. It quotes the IDF's projection of a 30-year timeline and notes the absence of a plan for accelerated protection, attributing this to a lack of willingness to undertake large-scale emergency rebuilding.

Both reports rely on the same IDF briefing, but the second places greater emphasis on the vulnerability of the population and the inadequacy of current efforts, using language such as "hammered" and "vulnerable" to describe the situation.

Context

The IDF's statements come after a period of intense conflict with Iran, which included ballistic missile attacks on Israeli territory. The reports indicate that over 50 Israelis were killed by Iranian ballistic missiles in under a year, according to the Jerusalem Post. The military's assessment of safe room coverage reflects ongoing concerns about civilian protection in future conflicts.

The Home Front Command's figures on casualties and damage are based on its own data as of the ceasefire, and the reports do not include independent verification. The projection of a 30-year timeline for safe room coverage is an estimate based on current growth rates, and the military notes that even an accelerated pace would leave significant gaps for over a decade.