The Red Color (, transl.: ''Tzeva Adom,'' i.e. ''code red'') is an

early-warning radar An early-warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its targets, i.e., allowing defences to be alerted as ''early'' as possible before the intruder reaches its target, giving the air defences the maximum tim ...

system originally installed by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

in several towns surrounding the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

to warn civilians of imminent attack by rockets (usually

Qassam rocket The Qassam rocket ( ; also ''Kassam'') is a simple, steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. These rockets cannot be fired to target specific military objectives in or near ci ...

s). Outside of areas originally serviced by the Red Color system, standard air raid sirens were used to warn of rocket attacks. The system originally operated in areas around the so-called Gaza envelope, including in

Sderot Sderot (, , ; , sometimes Romanized as "Sederot") is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. In , it had a population of . Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza St ...

. When the signature of a rocket launch is detected, the system automatically activates the public broadcast warning system in nearby Israeli communities and military bases. A recorded female voice, intoning the Hebrew words for Red Color ("Tzeva Adom"), is broadcast 4 times. The entire program is repeated until all rockets have impacted and no further launches are detected. The system was installed in

Ashkelon Ashkelon ( ; , ; ) or Ashqelon, is a coastal city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The modern city i ...

between July 2005 and April 2006. Up to June 2006, the announcement was called Red Dawn (, transl.: Shakhar Adom) but it was changed to the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

words for Red Color (, transl.: Tzeva Adom) due to a complaint made by a 7-year-old girl named Shakhar (Hebrew for dawn). It was the subject of a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

, which focused on how children are to cope with an alert, directed by Yoav Shoam. Since 2014, alerts have been available on an

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

application from the

App Store An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...

. It was the most downloaded app in Israel in July 2014 during Operation Protective Edge. Users can select to receive alerts for rocket attacks nationwide, or only in their districts. In October 2023 it was reported that a version of the system modified to suit

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

"would start working in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

soon" to warn against the Russian missile strikes of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

References

{{reflist Ground radars Military radars of Israel Second Intifada Civil defense Emergency management in Israel Israel Defense Forces Gaza–Israel conflict Warning systems Ashkelon Military equipment introduced in the 2000s

See also

References