More than 15,000 Arabs in Lod Without Shelters: Urgent Calls for Action to Ensure Residents' Safety

SadaNews - The popular committee in the city of Lod has warned of the worsening humanitarian and security conditions in the Arab neighborhoods amidst ongoing war, confirming that more than fifteen thousand Arab citizens living in the Mahatta, Shneir, and S.H neighborhoods lack public shelters or safe places to ensure their safety during emergencies.

It noted that "this sensitive phase requires immediate action and collective responsibility to safeguard the residents' safety, in light of what it described as official negligence, particularly from the Lod municipality, regarding the needs of the Arab neighborhoods in terms of civil protection infrastructure."

The popular committee called on the municipality to urgently work on providing safe solutions for the Arab residents, rehabilitating existing public shelters in other neighborhoods, in addition to establishing new shelters or equipping the Arab neighborhoods with safe rooms, facilitating licensing procedures, and assisting families wishing to build protective rooms within their homes.

It also urged families to fully commit to the safety instructions issued by the relevant authorities, and to take utmost caution and care, emphasizing the importance of moving away from apathy under the current circumstances.

In this context, a call was made to community forces, media outlets, social and political activists, and Friday sermon speakers, to enhance public awareness and raise the level of community readiness, in addition to encouraging those with capabilities to donate to provide safe rooms and distribute them in Arab neighborhoods, while emphasizing the necessity of preparing an emergency kit in every home and following the official guidelines related to public safety.

The popular committee confirmed that the current phase is critical and dangerous, necessitating the convergence of popular and official efforts to reduce risks and protect lives.