As talk of an impending attack on Iran's nuclear facilities increases, the Homefront Command has intensified its efforts to prepare the country for enemy retaliation if war breaks out. This week, the command will test its new "Personal Message" system during which text messages will be sent to citizens' mobile phones in different parts of the country between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time. The most intensive part of the test will take place on Thursday between 10 a.m. and 12 noon, when citizens around the country will receive test messages. Text messages saying, "Homefront Command test of cellular warning system," will be sent to different cities in accordance with the following schedule: Sunday and Monday Ramle. Tuesday Haifa, Acre, Nahariya, Carmiel, Safed, Yehud, Kfar Saba, Netanya, Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Kiryat Gat, Sderot and Netivot. Wednesday Kiryat Shmona, Metullah, Yesod Hamaala, Tiberias, Rishon Lezion, Rehovot, Yavneh, Gedera, Mazkeret Batya, Sde Boker, Mitzpe Ramon, Dimona and Yerucham. Thursday a random country-wide test, with special focus on Afula, Hadera, Upper Nazareth, Zichron Yaakov, Jerusalem, Modiin, Mevaseret Zion, Beit Shemesh, Ofakim, Netivot, Lehavim, Arav and Ein Gedi. This is the first time the test will be performed throughout the country to ensure that every citizen can receive a warning wherever they may be at the moment of an impending enemy attack. In recent months, the Homefront Command has conducted two experiments to test a new siren in case of a chemical weapons attack on Israel. The siren emits a different sound than the conventional siren citizens with which citizens are familiar, and signals that a missile carrying a chemical warhead has been fired at Israel. The drills were held at the Homefront Command headquarters in Ramle. The Homefront Command said the idea was to allow people to differentiate between different types of attacks and respond accordingly. If indeed a "chemical" siren was sounded, people would know to don their gas masks, which have been distributed to the public in recent months. The fact that geographic siren zones have been re-designated in recent years increases the chances that eventually the decision will be made to install unique sirens for different threats. The subject of a chemical attack has been a source of serious concern for the defense establishment in general and the IDF specifically in recent months, mainly due to fears over what will happen to Syria's chemical weapons arsenal in the wake of the growing unrest in the country. Security officials are concerned that the fragile situation in Syria may pave the way for terrorist organizations, namely Hezbollah, to get their hands on unconventional weapons. Sources from within Israel's defense establishment have said on numerous occasions that the transfer of chemical weapons to Hezbollah would change the rules of the game, and could even be seen as a cause for war.
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