The Home Front Command (HFC; Hebrew: פיקוד העורף, Pikud HaOref, also referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym Pakar) is an Israel Defense Forces military district command responsible for civil protection.
It was created in February 1992 in response to the lessons of the Gulf War,[1] which was the first war since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War in which centers of civilian population faced significant threat. The command is responsible for preparing the civilian population of Israel for conflict or disaster, assisting the population during crisis and contributing to post-crisis reconstruction.
The mission of the Home Front Command is to protect civilian lives. It prepares the civilian space before a conflict, supports it during a conflict, carries out search and rescue operations and assists in the rapid restoration of the civilian space after a conflict has ended. The Home Front Command publishes regular instructions for civil defense, especially in times of emergency, and operates a telephone emergency center numbered 104.[2]
This district command should not be confused with Unit 669. The Home Front Command's search and rescue unit operates within Israel and is intended to rescue civilians, primarily operating in times of natural disasters, while Unit 669 is the Israeli Air Force's Tactical Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) unit that rescues combatants behind enemy lines.
As per the Home Front Command's website, its fields responsibilities are:[3]
Until the establishment of the Command, responsibility for the Home Front fell under the Civilian Defense's Chief Officer Corps Command and under Regional Defense. During that time, the three regional commands had their own home front commands. After the first Persian Gulf War, these organizations were unified and the Home Front Command was created. It is currently headed by Aluf Rafi Milo.
The role of the Homefront command as a civil defense service are embodied in the Israeli civil defense laws of 1951 as well as other government regulations and decisions. Civil defense is defined in law as follows: "The measures taken to defend against any attack, or the danger the attack poses to the civil population, or to minimize the outcome of such an attack to remove weaponry which is not for self-defense."[2]
The Command is divided into five districts (which are further divided into subdistricts):[1]
Together the districts field 26 rescue battalions, 13 CBRN defense battalions, 26 military hospitals, and 6 logistic units, all of which are manned by reservists. Additionally, there is an Intelligence unit which is subject to both Aman and the Home Front Command. The Home Front Command also includes the search-and-rescue training base Bahad 16, and fields an active Rescue & Training Brigade, as well as two reserve infantry brigades:
Rescue & Training Brigade
6050th Infantry Brigade "Daniel", in the Southern District
Intelligence Unit (Unit 4070)
On 26 November 2019, an earthquake struck the Durrës region of Albania, killing 51 people, injuring 3,000 others, and damaging 11,000 buildings.[4] Israel sent Home Front Command military engineer troops and a rescue and service team from the regional council of Mevo'ot HaHermon to Albania to search through the rubble for survivors and rescue them, assess whether buildings were structurally sound, and provide Albanians who had been evacuated from their homes with waterproof tents to shelter them.[5][6][7][4][8]
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote: "We stand with our Albanian friends during this difficult time, and will continue to assist them in any way we can."[5] In January 2020, Albanian President Ilir Meta met with IDF soldiers during an official visit in Israel, embraced them, and thanked them for their assistance in earthquake relief efforts and "further consolidating the friendly and historical relations between our two nations and our countries."[9] At Ramla military base, Meta awarded the Albanian Golden Medal of the Eagle to the National Rescue Unit of the IDF.[9]
On 24 June 2021, Israeli Consul-General Maor Elbaz-Starinsky conveyed an official offer from the Israeli government to send the Home Front Command search and rescue team to Florida to assist in rescue efforts associated with the Surfside condominium collapse.[10] Florida responded the next day,[11] and Home Front Command joined the search for survivors.[12] The members of the Home Front Command's National Rescue Unit who assisted with the rescue efforts ultimately recovered 81 of the 97 victims.[13]
After the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake, on the 6 February 2023, the IDF declared the "Olive Branches" humanitarian aid delegation, a delegation of 150 active duty and reservist personnel of the Home Front command, as well as members of the Israel Fire and Rescue Services, IDF Medical Corps and more, led by Colonel (Aluf-Mishne) Golan Vach.[14] As of 11 February 2023, the IDF delegation has rescued 19 living civilians, including a nine-year-old child.[15]
