Israel's ongoing conflict has exposed a critical failure in protecting people with disabilities and elderly citizens during missile attacks. While most residents can run to safe rooms or public shelters when sirens sound, hundreds of thousands lack accessible options. An estimated 600,000 people with severe disabilities remain without adequate protection, and many shelters are unreachable due to stairs or other barriers.

Despite legislation passed in 2005 requiring emergency preparedness regulations for people with disabilities, meaningful implementation has not occurred. Years of appeals to government ministries and authorities have yielded little change, leaving vulnerable citizens effectively abandoned during emergencies. The result is a civil defense system that assumes all residents can respond in the same way, ignoring known physical limitations.

Advocacy group Access Israel has attempted to fill the gap through initiatives such as the Purple Vest project, which has provided evacuations, equipment, and support to thousands, often relying on donor funding rather than a coordinated national plan. The organization argues that accessible protection should be a state responsibility, not a charitable effort.

Proposed solutions include appointing a national project manager for accessible emergency planning, creating municipal databases of residents with disabilities, training rescue teams in accessible evacuation, and publishing clear shelter accessibility information. Advocates stress that protecting vulnerable citizens during wartime is a fundamental measure of national responsibility and that accessible shelter is a basic right, not a luxury.