The steel shutters of the windows in the bomb shelters in communities within 7 km. of the Gaza Strip will be replaced with thicker windows due to the projected increased lethality of rockets fired from the enclave.
The steel shutters that are on the outside of the windows will be replaced with 32 mm. thick shutters instead of the standard 24 mm. The shutters of many bomb shelter windows though are only 16 mm. thick as regulations do not demand more.
The decision was announced by the IDF following a recommendation from the Home Front Command, which has a detailed series of regulations regarding the construction of bomb shelters that must be blast- and shrapnel-resistant.
The recommendation was made following a secondary investigation into the death of six-year-old Ido Avigail, who was killed when a piece of shrapnel penetrated the window of the bomb shelter where he and his family were sheltering from a rocket attack during Operation Guardian of the Walls.
The IDF said it was the first time such a decision was made retroactively and was done “to ensure the safety of the citizens of Israel in accordance with the threats posed.”
The decision to thicken the windows was also made following an updated intelligence report that found that terror groups in the Hamas-run enclave are in possession of rockets with new capabilities.
The new capabilities are only relevant within a range of 7 km.
“We are most committed to the protection of the citizens of Israel and are working to ensure that they are provided with the most up-to-date safeguards in response to emerging threats,” said IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi.
Homefront Commander Maj.-Gen. Uriel Gordin met with the heads of regional councils next to the Gaza Strip and shared the recommendation with them, the IDF said.
Avigail was killed on May 12 during a barrage of rockets targeting Sderot and border communities as well as the Tel Aviv area.
IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Hidai Zilberman said at the time the incident was the result of an “incredibly rare” convergence of events.
“It was a piece of the rocket that came in at a very specific angle, at a very specific speed and at a very specific point,” he said, adding that the window plating had been constructed properly.
Channel 12 later reported that the window plating had been built according to an old standard, which required that it be 12 mm. rather than the new standard that calls for them to be at least 24 mm. thick.
Hamas fired more than 4,000 rockets, mortars and anti-tank guided missiles toward Israel during the 11 days of fighting, killing 11 civilians and one soldier. Israel bombed hundreds of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets, including rocket manufacturing and production warehouses and killed senior operatives responsible for the Hamas’s rocket and missile program.