Going underground: Israel must fortify its vital infrastructure before the next war - opinion

The ongoing conflicts with Iran, Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran have underscored the vulnerabilities of above-ground assets and the strategic advantage that underground domains offer to adversaries. While the IDF and the US military have managed to overcome many challenges posed by the underground domain, the costs have been disproportionate to the threat level.

Israel has had to develop specialized, complex, and expensive intelligence, operational, and kinetic capabilities to address this threat and prevent the enemy from exploiting its advantages. The Nagel Committee on the Defense Budget has recommended that Israel embark on a national project to develop underground solutions as essential to preserving security-related and civilian continuity of operations.

With two key members of the Nagel Committee now in decision-making positions, there is an opportunity to advance this important issue through redundancy and alternative above-ground facilities, although these solutions may not be as effective or cost-efficient in the long run. Ultimately, the responsibility for planning and constructing national underground infrastructure, including protecting the population during emergencies, lies with the Home Front Command, in cooperation with local authorities and under the guidance of the political leadership.

Brief written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.