Ramat Gan Opens Public Shelters Amid Warning of Higher Weekend Risk of Iranian Missile Fire

Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama Hacohen announced today (Thursday) that all public shelters in the city are being opened, following a situational assessment indicating that the risk of fire from Iran over the weekend has increased. Alongside the decision, he called on building committees across the city to refresh and prepare the shared shelters in residential buildings, even though at this stage there has been no change in Home Front Command guidelines.

In a statement he published, Shama Hacohen wrote that "the situational assessment is that the risk of fire from Iran over the weekend has grown — and is no longer negligible." In his words, "despite the cost of opening them, it is right to act with extra caution, and hopefully this opening will turn out to have been unnecessary."

The mayor stressed that there are no new instructions from Home Front Command, and asked the public to remain calm even in the event of further escalation: "There is no alert at all from Home Front Command — and in any case, if there is another round, there is no reason to panic. We have the IDF and the Air Force to protect us and also to strike far from here." Home Front Command said there has been no change in instructions for the public.

The municipalities of Ramat HaSharon, Tirat Carmel, and Eilat also ordered shelters to be opened. In a statement from the Eilat Municipality, it said: "In light of the security situation, and despite the fact that there has been no change in Home Front Command's defense policy, Mayor Eli Lankri instructed earlier this week that the public shelters be opened."

At the same time, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed Iran's conduct during a conversation with reporters on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference in the Philippines. According to him, Tehran is reaching out to the U.S. every day, both directly and through mediating parties, asking to hold talks, but in practice is not showing seriousness.

Rubio argued that the Iranian regime continues to show that it is not prepared to uphold commitments it signed in the past, and therefore U.S. President Donald Trump sees no justification for responding to those approaches as long as Iran is not ready to reach a binding deal. He added that "with every night, the price Iran will pay will continue to rise."

The American secretary of state also referred to attacks being carried out by Houthi rebels against Saudi ships and oil tankers, and expressed hope that they would stop their actions. According to him, the Iranians "lured and trapped" the Houthis into entering the conflict, and he warned that harm to Saudi vessels flying the Chinese flag could deepen the economic and maritime crisis and turn it into an even more severe global problem.