The Red Color ( he, צבע אדום, transl.: ''Tzeva Adom'') is an

early-warning radar An early-warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its targets, i.e., allowing defences to be alerted as ''early'' as possible before the intruder reaches its target, giving the air defences the maximum t ...

system installed by the Israel Defense Forces in several towns surrounding the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

to warn civilians of imminent attack by rockets (usually

Qassam rocket The Qassam rocket ( ar, صاروخ القسام ''Ṣārūkh al-Qassām''; also ''Kassam'') is a simple, steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. These rockets cannot be fired ...

s). Outside of areas serviced by the Red Color system, standard air raid sirens are used to warn of rocket attacks. The system currently operates in settlements around Gaza envelope and in

Sderot Sderot ( he, שְׂדֵרוֹת, , lit. ''Boulevards'', ar, سديروت) is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District of Israel. In it had a population of . Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza (the ...

. When the signature of a rocket launch is detected originating in Gaza, the system automatically activates the public broadcast warning system in nearby Israeli communities and military bases. A recorded female voice, intoning the Hebrew words for Red Color ("Tzeva Adom"), is broadcast 4 times. The entire program is repeated until all rockets have impacted and no further launches are detected. The system was installed in

Ashkelon Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border wit ...

between July 2005 and April 2006. Up to 2007, the announcement was called Red Dawn ( he, שחר אדום, transl.: Shakhar Adom) but it was changed to the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

words for Red Color ( he, צבע אדום, transl.: Tzeva Adom) due to a complaint made by a 7-year-old girl named Shakhar (Hebrew for dawn). It was the subject of a documentary, which focused on how children are to cope with an alert, directed by Yoav Shoam. Since 2014, alerts have been available on an iPhone application from the

App Store An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the c ...

. It was the most downloaded app in Israel in July 2014 during

Operation Protective Edge The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that h ...

. Users can select to receive alerts for rocket attacks nationwide, or only in their districts.

References

{{reflist Ground radars Military radars of Israel Second Intifada Civil defense Emergency management in Israel Israel Defense Forces Gaza–Israel conflict Warning systems Ashkelon Military equipment introduced in the 2000s

See also

References