Emergency Numbers in Israel

Moving to a new country entails many responsibilities. Apart from making sure one’s relocation is legally documented, ensuring one’s safety in new, unfamiliar territory is a major concern.

At present, Israel is going through a period of unrest where violent demonstrations and bombings occur in the country. Expats will find that many embassies have issued travel warnings against non-essential travel to areas such as the Syrian border and areas that are on the border of Egypt. Even cities such as Jerusalem have been attacked by rockets that have been fired from places as far as the Gaza Strip. Thus, it is important to be aware of all the agencies, offices, and other resources one may rely on to be secure.

The need for this awareness is even heightened by the possibility of emergency situations. Needless to say, it is extremely important for one to know and keep a record of all emergency numbers. When moving to Israel, there are a few help lines to remember and this makes it easier for everyone to call for help. For medical situations, one can call 101. For police assistance, the number is 100 and for emergency fire service, one can dial 102. For any landline problems, one can ask for assistance by dialing the number 166.  

Other phone numbers that may not be used in emergency situations but will still be greatly useful are 106 for the municipality and city-related inquiries and 103 for problems with electricity. Saving all of these numbers in one's mobile phones or writing them down on a clean sheet of paper which everyone in the household can easily see are two very simple tasks that can bring great benefits for expats in Israel. Given the security situation in the country, expats will find that knowing the emergency numbers can bring some peace of mind.