[Los Angeles Times] Ashraf Khalil - An estimated 1.7 million Israeli schoolchildren headed for shelters Tuesday morning in response to a nationwide emergency siren as part of disaster drills that authorities said were an attempt to apply the lessons learned during Israel's 2006 war with Hizbullah. As a rising and falling siren sounded throughout the country, news footage showed children filing out of classrooms under the direction of their teachers, and "injured" students being treated by paramedics and carried off on stretchers. Officials in Haifa will unveil and test a $500,000 underground shelter and disaster response headquarters built below the city's central bus station. In 2006, Hizbullah rockets showered down on northern Israeli cities and towns for weeks.
2008-04-09 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive