Oooops! I heard sirens. A quick list of tips to prepare yourself for any potential emergency situation

Yes, we know that the hard times in which Israel is attacked as a whole nation by belligerent groups of terrorists/enemies is no joke: rather a total tragedy, and a despicable, scary and sometimes deadly thing. Nevertheless, we want to give you our support and advice in a friendly and easy to read manner, so if you find this post a bit too much shallow or sarcastic, pardonne-nous (Sorry in French)!

As experienced foreign nationals in TAU, we know that this topic always anguishes people, loading up their stress, therefore we are doing our best to avoid too much anxiety with a little wit.

Useful numbers

Police - 100 for emergencies, 110 for information center

Ambulance – Magen David Adom – 101

United Hatzalah – 1221 (a volunteering  emergency medical service alternative to the Magen David Adom)

National Fire and Rescue Authority – 102

Israel Electric company (if you have a contract, this is also the customer services) – 103

Home Front Command (Pikud Ha’Oref) – 104

Municipal hotline (Tel Aviv) - 106

A more complete list at this LINK

First piece of advice: breathe!

One of the most tactical tricks to survive an attack is not to turn it into a panic attack! It's hard, (easier said than done) especially for the newcomers who did not experience anything like that before. Israelis are terrific at handling the stress and going ahead with their lives even after 5 minutes from the last run-for-cover, so get inspired by them! Not that they take it lightly, it's just that they have spent a lifetime in these conditions.

Ask a friend to assist you if you are having some unbearable feelings, or spend some time with them. If you can, stay with your family and gather in a safe space maybe with another family, so that you can give reciprocal support.

Don't overthink, stress yourself with fear and insecurities if everything is in normality mode. Keep your stress when any sirens, attacks and whatsoever happens for real. Not because you should not be worried, but because with the frequency of crazy things happening here, you would turn constantly paranoid if these things are in your head all the time.

Instead, when it comes to a moment with sirens, walk calmly to the nearest shelter and bring with you something to distract you (a book, a game etc...) to avoid spending all the time stuck on the telephone. Find yourself a place where you feel safe, and try to reason by consulting people around you if you are an anxious type. Stay in the shelter for AT LEAST 10 minutes (find HERE why), or even better till when the IDF or the Home Front Command sends the greenlight through the app. Once you get out of the shelter, breathe again and take a moment to connect with yourself, no rush! In days like these, your life and health are important, the rest can wait.

Second piece of advice: life-saving information is everywhere

Believe us (we survived at least 2 wars, the coronavirus pandemic and random attacks of some freaks who stabbed/shot people in the streets of Tel Aviv), this of the 2020s is a luxury situation, compared to many other places in the world or in the history where sudden attacks just happen with numerous terrible consequences. 

Here you have a minute and a half to reach the shelter immediately after you hear the sirens, and this is more than enough for the 80-90% of Israelis to reach safety. Unfortunately, people living close to the borders (Gaza or Lebanon) have an extremely short time since the alert, but this is not our case! Cheers to that! 

You also have the Home front command app and website, which are constantly updated by the minute with new happenings and instructions. When an area of your interest is marked as vulnerable, you will see the change of the directives, clear instructions and frequents updates on the app/website, other than the siren alerts. You should be able to receive updates and notification even with very little signal.

If you are on campus, TAU is well provided with safety infrastructure, and every building has a shelter (here and here the official instructions/notes). Broshim instead is a different story because there are two safe spaces: 1) shelter apartments in each floor 2) staircases, even if they are not the best or first option (see the Q&A here of the Home Front Command). In this case, report immediately to TAU international School or to the management if the apartments are locked, something is not safely sealed, or anything that might hamper your safety or when you are rushing to a shelter. 

When you are on your own, check on Google Maps (or similar) where is the closest shelter if you are in town and you are not familiar with the area (just typ e "bomb shelters near me" for best and reliable results). Public shelter are more likely to appear on the map, but maybe you will find a private shelter on the way where people are running, and you can join in, if the one you aimed is too far. Also several light rail stations are indicated as shelters (See HERE). To say it all, in Tel Aviv you will also find the public anti-atomic shelters, like the central bus station and the Dizengoff mall.

If you don't have anywhere to go, the Home front command instructions suggest that you should lay down, cover your head and keep away from anything that can explode, glass in particular (source here). 

Buses and trains are constantly updated with the situation. Buses will stop for a few minutes if a siren is activated, to let people run to a shelter/safe area, and then -once everything is done- you can hop on to the bus again and proceed with your ride. Trains will slow down for a while (typically 10 minutes, the ones you are suppose to wait before exiting any shelter).

Even when Iran attacked last summer things were relatively easy, or even "better", because we received a push alert on the phone with the regular telephone signal -like an SMS- that does sound differently from any typical SMS or call ringtone, at least 10 minutes before the sirens went off, and still there was the 1 minute and a half of grace if you really did not catch your phone before screaming loudly, or you did not notice that streets are silent, cars are abandoned and people are running around. This happens because we were dealing with long range missiles, which need to travel from far away, but they are several times faster than the speed of sound.

In the case of a lonely wolf who that day or night decided to stab or assault people because they don't have anything better to do in their lives, things are more chaotic and less predictable. Unfortunately, on the spot of the accident is a 50/50 scenario. Either you are in the wrong place at the wrong moment, or the only thing that happens is some accelerated heartbeat. 

Firstly, when such things happen, there is no general siren, but people are so nice and well mannered that immediately share the information and inform their contacts by phone/WhatsApp, so in case the freak is still around, people know what is happening and the area around them is probably unsafe. 

Most times, a policeman or a civilian with a gun license will "handle the problem" pretty quickly, so the panic moment will last just a few minutes. 

Furthermore, this is not our war, so when these terrible things happen, they are in between the Israeli and the ones who hate them. Except for the 7th of October (where they did kidnapped foreigners), we never heard of a student/researcher being attacked on purpose by a dangerous person. On the other hand, in 2022 some folks of ours were a few meters from that bar in Dizengoff street where a few Israeli civilians were shot and many other got injured by a criminal from the West Bank. Long story short, our fellows that time eventually got safe and sound, and the worst they might have had could be just some psychological disturbance for a while.

Luckily, these events are rare and involve a few people, but this is part of the game. As foreigners, we decided to come to study in a country that is technically at war, or at least in permanent state of emergency. 

Third piece of advice: follow the updates from an official source

Install and follow the Home Front Command app (the official channel from the army) or the Pikud Adom one. You can also follow some news/updates groups or channels on WhatsApp, especially if you understand a bit of Hebrew or you have the patience to translate the most important announcements. For example, the IDF official channel on WhatsApp has an English version with immediate updates.

As well, follow TAU International School updates shared in their community (through the announcement board or the dedicated group). They just notified - as of February 2026 -  that they won't use anymore the Security Updates quiet group on WhatsApp. 

Nevertheless, you can always reach out someone at the International School by calling 

+972-(0)3-640-8118 (working days and hours) 

+ 972-(52)-5346188 (the 24/7 emergency hotline)

Always pay attention to the information flow during these times, because some criminals or cons will try all the time to send you fake notifications, to steal your data or to get you to spread misinformation or malware! One more time, follow the Official sources and instructions and be suspicious of random, unofficial, ambiguous message or person that wants to contact you through the socials or the phone.

Fourth piece of advice: always have the "ace in the sleeve", survival kits and very useful items

Hang out with a survival kit (first aid, medicines, swiss knife...), especially when the attacks are certain. If possible, get a radio and don't forget that in many shelters the Wi Fi and the phone signal don't work. Maybe bring a book or similar to pass the time, some snacks and a bottle of water. If the shelter is not provided with chairs, maybe bring something to sit and a blanket if it is cold, or a change if it is hot, in case of heavy sweating! Always imagine that you will spend some time in the shelter, at times also half an hour.

If you happen to be in one of these fancy shelter in Tel Aviv, your life might be easier because there is the intention of the municipality to provide as many shelters as possible with WiFi and Air Conditioning (work in progress...).

Importantly, when a siren goes off, wear close shoes to be able to run. And if you can't wear them in that moment, bring them with you in a bag or in your backpack, they will turn useful later.

It would be good to have a paper or an online accessible file with your basic personal and medical information if - God forbid - something happens to you and you can't communicate. Cringe? Yes! But better safe than sorry!

Fifth piece of advice: rely on you Israeli friends

Whether you have locals as friends or neighbors, you can always ask them for information and updates, since they might be more informed than us. They might explain you also specific situations and report changes in the safety guidance (for example, they might know immediately when it is good to leave the shelter). They might also be resourceful for many other reasons, such as hosting you in their place out of town or helping you to pick up last minute necessities (food, medicines, water bottles etc).

Sixth piece of advice: stand up for your rights in the shelter (and outside). 

Don't be shy or frustrated: by law, people must let you in a shelter (public or private, doesn't matter) and the doors must be sealed by the time of the attack. Advocate for your and other people safety! If someone does not let you in, take a picture or a video, write down the address of the place this thing happened and report to the police if things get rough.

Just to let you know if you had a property in Israel that has been damaged by hostile attack, you are entitled to a compensation. If instead the property is your landlord's you should know that there is no way that you need to pay for the damages (link).

Seventh piece of advice: have an emergency pantry storage

Always store in your apartment some long lasting and/or canned food and plenty of water. And a fully charged flashlight. It is very unlikely that we will have to live an apocalypse-like scene, but even if  one of the infrastructure building is hit (water or electricity provider, a central splitting unit in the quarter and so on), at least you don't have to worry about these things. 

Typically, when the situation is less dangerous, a series of shops selling essential goods will open, maybe with timings according to a curfew, or with the typical(or shortened) business hours; if these shops are close to a shelter, it will be more likely to be open.

Eighth piece of advice: connect with your people and with yourself in the aftermath of an event

As soon as you are allow to exit a protected space, text your people that you are ok; walk back home (or to your business if you were outside) and check around you if something is damaged or someone needs immediate assistance, even just a friendly smile. Do not touch and report suspicious objects to the police.

These occurrences when alarms and siren shout all of the time are tiring and scary. Plus, we International folks are psychologically more affected than the typical local Israelis (it's a generalization, obviously it depends on person to person), as we witnessed many times in the past. It's completely normal and expectable to have a strong reaction after these occurrences.

 

Take your time to recover, let the stress out (it is ok that this takes a few days) and don't feel too guilty because you don't function at your full potential. Feel what your body is telling you and take up your daily activities little by little. If you don't feel like studying or going to the lab, it's the case to take a couple of days off. Consider going for a few day out of town, in a place that is a less likely target.

At certain point, if the thing is still unbearable, ask your friends for support or even consider talking to a professional: there are different services to the citizens, and especially for TAU researchers and students, that will offer guidance or psychotherapy if you have been traumatized by violent events.

As far as leaving the country is concerned, the situation is extremely volatile and we don't know when the Israeli skies will be open again for commercial/civil aviation (HERE situation up to 28.02). 

Here below we list two links that provide the references for psychological support (Link1 and Link2).

This Link is to check the available psychological services in TAU.

Hold on and stay safe!!

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Important disclaimer: this information is what we could collect so far as of 28.02.26. Things can change or we might have forgotten something. In this case, if you find some mistakes, inaccuracies or you have something to add, please text Valentina or Bhavana so we can get things fixed.