Air raid sirens sound in Israel civil defence drill

Air raid sirens sent Israeli schoolchildren into bomb shelters as part of a five-day nationwide exercise to prepare for any future conflict that would include rocket attacks on Israel's major cities.

More than 4,000 rockets hit northern Israel during its 2006 war against Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas, attacks in which more than one million Israelis took to shelters.

National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, inspecting his ministry's emergency preparations, said Israel would face a stronger pounding in the event of a future war. "I expect that in the opening attack, hundreds of missiles will strike Israel," said Ben-Eliezer, a former defence minister. "There will be no place in the country that is not within range of rockets fired by Syria and Hezbollah."

Israel has told the United Nations, which maintains a peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, that Iranian-backed Hezbollah has been re-equipped with longer-range rockets since the 34-day conflict nearly two years ago.

As the siren sounded, Israeli radio and television stations broadcast an emergency message: "This is the time to ensure you and your family are ready for an emergency and that you have chosen the inner most secure area in your home or at your workplace."

At schools across the country, teachers shepherded children to shelters, where they were to receive an hour-long civil defence lesson.