Shelter rankings and shower timing apps: Israelis and Palestinians adapt to Iranian rockets

The Middle East war, which began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, triggered a wave of retaliatory fire from Iran and created some thorny problems for Jews and Arabs from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

A new app that went viral in the country within hours of its launch uses statistical analysis of recent air raid warnings in a specific area to guide users on the best times of day to shower, while limiting the chance of having to run for cover while bathing.

“I don’t even dare to take a shower. I’m naked in the restaurant. Is this normal?” an Israeli joked on a Telegram account with 60,000 followers. The warning of incoming Iranian missiles ordered residents to go to shelters.

Time Out, a publication known for guiding people to trendy restaurants and cocktail bars, is also trying to help the public cope with the war.

It has published a list of ideal Tel Aviv beach locations based on distance from the refuge.

“We searched and found that the beach is close to a compliant protected area and is only a few minutes’ walk away if necessary. Don’t panic!”

Journalist Ofek Tzach provides a ranking of public shelters in Tel Aviv.

Of the poorly performing locations, he mocked one as being packed with tourists, another “with barking dogs” and another he said was “quiet but with no one to talk to”.

– Getting married in a bomb shelter –

There were also some adorable moments that caught the public’s attention.

The wedding venue Lior and Michael had booked was no longer available due to security restrictions, so the couple held their wedding in a shelter four levels below the shopping center car park.

“It was a wonderful moment,” Michael told Israel’s Channel 13, even though 70 percent of the people there were strangers.

There’s also been an outpouring of online advice on how to make time in a shelter more bearable.

Books, music and cushions are popular suggestions, in contrast to the Israeli authorities’ stricter guidance, which includes radios, batteries, mobile phone chargers and identification documents.

For Palestinians living in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, reactions to the relentless air raid sirens tend to be darkly humorous.

Public shelters are few and far between in the east part of the city, and private shelters are almost non-existent.

Pastry chef Mohammad Alayan posted on Facebook that “Palestinians are currently carrying trays of qatayef on rooftops” to watch the missiles. He was referring to the dessert traditionally eaten during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Palestinians in East Jerusalem regularly film rockets streaking across the sky from their rooftops.

Palestinians also jokingly took aim at a Facebook post by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion detailing proper behavior when an air-raid siren sounded.

One comment on the post, apparently from a resident of Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, asked: “What should people in Shuafat camp do? Jump out of the window?”

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This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.