How to continue living and developing under constant military threat – Israel's experience

Since its foundation, Israel has been at war. All this time, the country has been growing incredibly rapidly, filled with immigrants from all over the world. After 1949, when the USSR realised that Israel, supported by the United States, would not become a communist country, it began to supply arms to its enemies: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. The "Israeli Front" became an experimental site for weapons, the modernised version of which russia is now firing at Ukraine. Israel had to improve its methods at the same time as the missiles coming from its neighbours were improving: work on air defence, educate citizens in a new way, develop the military-industrial complex, and, of course, create protective structures.

Speaking at the Ukrainian-Israeli Innovation Summit in Warsaw – UIIS2022.Warsaw, Alex Zatulsky, CEO of the Israeli construction company BIM Leaders, has said that Ukraine today is like Israel 50 years ago: with still weak defence, but already a strong understanding of the need to adapt to life in a state of war. The modernised russian missiles that come to Israel from Iran and Gaza are no different in TNT equivalent from those that fall on Kharkiv, Kherson, and Dnipro. And if, for example, the building in Dnipro had been constructed differently, the losses would have been much less, the expert is sure. How exactly? Alex Zatulsky, an expert at the Ukrainian-Israeli Innovation Summit UIIS2022.Warsaw, told Mind about the Israeli construction concept and how this experience could be applied in Ukraine.

The war concept of construction

It is obvious that Ukraine, its infrastructure, business, and people have already begun to adapt to life during the war. Many people are returning from abroad, and they need to rebuild the country and earn some money. Proper life support means not looking for a basement under the building, not running from the 25th floor down, but knowing that the elevator works even when the power is off because a generator is one of the requirements without which the house will not be put into operation.

To know that stairs in business centres are load-bearing structures built together with a protective armoured structure in case there are many people in the building.

70 years ago, Israel also built protective structures underground, but a struggling decade after decade, it created a new concept of construction.

Principle 1. Everyone needs protection. Israel has various programmes that not only build new buildings, but also strengthen old ones. Buildings constructed during the massive construction in 1950-1970, similar to Soviet Khrushchev-era apartments, are called "chicken legs" in Israel. A programme for their renovation, TAMA 38/1, has been operating for many years. An investor who wants to build a house first relocates the residents and rebuilds their house, completes safety rooms, strengthens all walls up to 40 cm, instals iron shutters, airtight doors, and an autonomous ventilation system.

Nowadays, about 80% of buildings in Israel are protected by all standards. There are situations when it is better to demolish old buildings and build new ones in their place, and sometimes it is better to take some more land, add more space for people and add a few floors. Permission is granted for this, and a combination agreement is drawn up: the developer negotiates with the residents, relocates them temporarily, adds elevators and a security room to the building, and improves the layout. There is a recession in massive construction all over the world, but Israel is not affected because of the number of people who are fleeing to the country. If at the beginning of 2022, these were mostly people from Ukraine, now more people are fleeing from russia, Kazakhstan, and belarus. They realise that there is no future there.

Protective structures must be accessible. As soon as the government announces an operation in a strategic region, the doors open: where has been a house of creativity, for example, a children's club, a gym in the building, now there is a 24/7 shelter open to everyone with water, lighting, and ventilation. Everyone knows where to go in case of danger. A situation like in Ukraine, when shopping centres are closed during an alarm and people are kicked out, is impossible. On the contrary, we open all the gates. Even crash barriers on highways and in some cities are built so that a person with a car can hide behind them.

Principle 2: Architectural planning according to the "war rose." All buildings are constructed not according to wind rose, but according to the "war rose": they are reinforced and located depending on where and what kind of threat may come from. In border areas, they even think about how people can safely get home or to a shelter after they have entered the yard and parked.

An example is a school in Sderot, 4 kilometres from the Gaza Strip. This distance is about 3 seconds of a rocket's flight. Therefore, it was built as a solid bomb shelter. Everything is protected, and the windows face the opposite direction from Gaza. Another example is a hospital 25 kilometres away, where almost all departments, including the maternity ward and the department for people with disabilities, are one big bunker. When the siren sounds, it is enough to close the shutters and 60% of the hospital is in a capsule, even operations are not stopped. In case of massive shelling, they also use protective doors.

Our Ministry of Defence is one of the most attractive targets for enemies, like all ministries in Tel Aviv, built with special protection, because it is located in the vulnerable centre of the city, with 10,000 soldiers serving there and the entire command. And across the street stands the Azrieli Centre, one of the largest shopping centres, with three skyscrapers. They were built taking into account the houses located nearby. It should be the same in Kyiv. The protection of each administrative building should be thought out and implemented exclusively. Infrastructure facilities and those buildings that are nearby and are at risk because of this neighbourhood should be reinforced separately. After all, the concentration of targets is a big risk. This kind of thinking is the future for Ukraine, and it needs to be realised.

Principle 3. Capsule safety. There are different types of mamads, or protective capsule rooms, depending on the type of building. In high-rise office centres, each storey has a fortified room and the building itself is designed so that the rooms, offices, or the entire building take the brunt of the impact and protect the capsule where people work, and only the blast wave would fall on the capsule itself. The capsule must have its own ventilation and special doors. And, of course, it cannot be located "facing" the direction of a potential threat. While office centres usually build one such capsule per floor, residential buildings should have a protective room in each flat.

Such capsules are everywhere: from residential buildings and offices to construction sites. Even a private house cannot be built without a bomb shelter. It must be approved by a certified inspector and meet the requirements of the Home Front Defence Ministry.

On the highways and in villages, every bus stop has a fortification where you can hide during shelling while waiting for your transport. Until there were more serious shells, fortified bus stops were built of concrete. Now, they are made of metal so that nothing can collapse on a person, and a capsule is placed next to the bus stop.

Of course, building to these standards is expensive. Who should pay for it? First, there must be investors. Secondly, the owner of real estate, whether private or state-owned, must understand that this is now one of the new safety conditions for adults to work and children to study.

Principle 4. Building codes should be regularly reviewed to improve security. Recently in Ashdod, a rocket with a large TNT equivalent hit a protective shutter, killing a child. The concept of the thickness of the shutters was immediately revised, from 6 cm to 12 cm.

About 10 years ago, gas pipes were buried 1.2 metres deep.  Now they are 2 metres or deeper. The height of buildings and the presence of towers in cities also depend on the region. For example, in the south, especially in the border region, there are much fewer towers.

Thanks to constant updates, we are ready for an attack with any weapon. To this day, every family has gas masks and capsules for babies. Iran says that it wants to demolish us and is preparing nuclear technology. Thus, it means we are building infrastructure to withstand a wave even of non-conventional weapons.

Principle 5. The entire defence system must work in such a way that the country does not stop. A few years ago, my wife and I were flying out of Ben Gurion Airport and watched rockets flying a kilometre and a half away on TV. The airport worked without delay. Children at school also continued studying on the lower armoured floors.  They go down there in case of danger.

The entire agenda of the Home Front Defence Ministry is created in such a way that the country does not stop, no matter what happens. Currently, Ukraine is receiving warning systems that divide areas into densely and sparsely populated ones. For example, we don't shoot down missiles on the highways. They know that it will fall in the open area. And we need to protect densely populated areas.

Clearly, there are restrictions on movement in different places depending on the kind of weapons the enemy uses. Sometimes, citizens are prohibited from leaving for one or two days, less often for up to a month, while the army does its job. Then the operation ends and everyone returns to normal life. With the weapons that Israel has now, the country feels like one of the best in the world for such a number of people and territory.

We live in a multinational country and protect all citizens, regardless of religion or nationality.

Principle 6. All power to professionals. And without corruption! In Israel, there are certified representatives of the Ministry of Home Front Defence who, based on standards and specific calculations, give instructions on how to build a system for reducing and increasing the pressure of the gas transportation structure properly, how to equip new areas in ports and organise their work. The entire life of the country depends on specialists who give instructions on how to protect residents, employees, and workers. The Ministry of Home Front Defence has a separate unit that checks building materials and standardisation. By allowing only certain types of concrete to be used, for example.

There is no such thing as "premium protection" in Israel. A factory director, an engineer, and a worker can live in the same building. The difference may be in the square footage, but not in the bomb shelter. Everyone will be protected equally. By the way, if a flat owner wants to make changes to the layout, put something in the wall, or install an air conditioner, they need permission from the building manager and a design engineer, who will check whether this will affect the capsule, ventilation, and other important protective systems.

The law, its content and implementation

Back in the summer, on July 22, 2022, Ukraine adopted Law No. 7398 on shelters, signed by the president. According to it, all structures must be protected. However, the law itself has not yet been filled with content and norms, nor has the necessary legislative environment been created.

Our task, together with our partners and colleagues, is to help fill this law and share our experience. It includes the formulation of requirements, their implementation and control, and the education and certification of a large number of personnel: architects, engineers, designers, and security specialists – all those who will be responsible for implementation, control and quality assurance. Our company alone has more than 150 engineers and designers who work for Israeli companies and participate in public infrastructure projects, build office and residential buildings, and critical infrastructure facilities. Our specialists who develop new standards are authorised to transfer information for training in Ukraine. This is how we can help you as a company today.

Creating security is not just a list of requirements for building materials or planning. It is a set of measures. To begin with, in Israel, certification and attestation of buildings take place with the mandatory participation of the regulator from the Ministry of Home Front Defence. It creates requirements without which you cannot put either the project or the finished building into operation. And it also checks their implementation.

Next. All of this must be used correctly. Each city regularly checks how well the infrastructure works, how quickly people can use it, and get to a shelter. Children at school have lessons where they are taught to go down to the protective facilities. Each city, depending on the level of danger, develops its own rules. For example, in Sderot and the surrounding areas, the alarms and shelling made children incontinent, so it was decided to say "red light" with a voice instead of a siren to reduce stress. Sometimes we have to go to work, and the siren sounds. Then we stay and work at home, and when Israel strikes back, we know that we have 20 minutes to get to the office. And we know where the protective structures are on the way.

Today, many countries, such as Singapore, cooperate with Israel in matters of safe construction. The issue of such cooperation is not a personal matter, but a national one, because many countries around us are hostile to us, but nevertheless, they ask for the help of Israeli specialists to protect border cities. Today, we are allowed to transfer technologies to Ukraine to protect its population. The request came relatively recently, in March 2022. Before that, of course, there were interstate contacts, and security issues were discussed, but one had not yet seriously considered such assistance.

Currently, there are many requests from large developers, but first, we need to create a logistical, legal, and financial base. This is not a thousand or even a million dollars. We need funds that will work on this to help Ukraine move into new realities. To build infrastructure in another way. To make doors, windows, and ventilation in another way. We need to train doctors, psychologists, and the military in another way. To teach citizens to live in another way. Decentralisation should be implemented, which will allow us to move and build buildings. It is not just a "transfer of drawings." It is a comprehensive solution. And we cannot help until there is a legislative adaptation.

We want to help Ukraine because many of us have been born there. We have business partners, friends and relatives there. We are now interested in fully assembling the working group, looking for those in Ukraine who could help us, so that corruption does not interfere, so that professionals who care about the country's fate gather, and so that a regulatory body can be created.

We are willing and able to help. We have knowledge, resources, and opportunities.

Help us to help you!