As Iranian missile salvos send Israelis running for safe rooms and other protected spaces, some soldiers say that on they are being left without adequate bomb shelters on military bases, leaving them defenseless as they serve to defend the rest of the nation.

When “Leah,” a reservist combat medic who requested anonymity, woke on the morning of February 28 to the sound of sirens, her first instinct was to run to the nearest bomb shelter on her base near the Gaza border.

But when she and several other soldiers crowded inside, they quickly noticed that a window in the shelter designed to close with a protective plate was broken and could not be shut, leaving a gaping hole that compromised the entire fortification.

“We realized it’s not really safe,” she told The Times of Israel.

The soldiers rushed to another nearby shelter, only to find it already filled to capacity.

“It was too small — there wasn’t enough room for all of us,” Leah recalled

With nowhere else to go, Leah and the other soldiers left outside were forced to stand next to the shelter, exposed to potential shrapnel, with only their prayers to protect them.

Later that day, she was transferred to central Israel to join a rapid deployment team tasked with responding to missile impacts in densely populated areas. With no available army accommodations, the unit was sent to sleep at a nearby school, where classes had been suspended due to the war.

For the first time that day, the reservist said she felt safe.

Despite the more frequent sirens in central Israel, Leah said she felt “more relieved” knowing there was an adequate bomb shelter nearby.

But she is scheduled to return to her base next week, leaving her uncertain about how protected she will be when the next siren sounds.

Leah’s story is far from unique. Since........

© The Times of Israel