Commander warns Tel Aviv will be targeted

TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Tel Aviv and the surrounding area will be the target of missile attacks from multiple fronts in any future conflict, a Home Front commander warned.

"Dozens of missiles will land on Tel Aviv, hundreds will die and massive damage will be caused to buildings and the infrastructure," Col. Adam Zussman, Home Front commander for the Tel Aviv region, told Army Radio.

Marking 20 years after an Iraqi scud missile fell on Israel at the start of the Gulf War in January 1991, Zussman warned: "Tel Aviv is in danger ... It will be hit by a large number of missiles, missiles that are precise and lethal. However, our ability to deal with such missiles has also improved," Haaretz reported Wednesday

While not seeking to alarm anyone, Zussman said it is important to make the public aware of the threats ahead so they prepare bomb shelters and arm themselves with gas masks, the newspaper said.

The Home Front Command divides local councils in Israel into two groups, those able to "endure attacks" and those that will "absorb evacuees." Councils in the Tel Aviv and Gush Dan region are all listed in the first category, the newspaper said.

Zussman said he is satisfied with the level of preparations undertaken by the local authorities who have located areas to be used as temporary underground shelters for the civilian population in times of emergency, the newspaper said.