Israeli army launches search-and-rescue command

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have formed a new brigade to contend with national emergencies, the army announced Wednesday in a statement.

The brigade unifies four existing Home Front Command search-and- rescue battalions. As a centralized operations center, it will coordinate their activities in dealing with mass casualty incidents, including multiple-front missile strikes, chemical and biological warfare and natural disasters.

Israel's defense establishment estimates that tens of thousands of rockets and missiles are regularly pointed in the country's direction from neighboring states and militant groups.

General Eyal Eizenberg, who heads the Home Front Command, said at the center's inauguration ceremony that threats and challenges facing the Israeli home front are rising. "Our homes are becoming a front. We stand ready to assist the population in emergencies," he said according to the statement. The new brigade is housed at the IDF's southern Camp Zikim and its first commander is Colonel Yoram Laredo.