A “Mamad” (ממ”ד), short for Merhav Mugan Dirati (Hebrew: מרחב מוגן דירתי, meaning “residential secure space”), is a reinforced safe room built into Israeli homes and apartments as a protective measure against missile, rocket, and chemical threats. Since 1993, Israeli law has required every new residential building to include a Mamad, reflecting the country’s ongoing need for civilian defense in the face of frequent aerial attacks.
Key Features of a Mamad:
- Constructed with 25–30 cm thick reinforced concrete walls and ceilings.
- Outfitted with a steel, blast-resistant door and shrapnel-resistant window.
- Includes an air filtration system to protect against chemical and biological threats.
- Minimum size and construction standards are set by the Israeli Home Front Command: at least 9 square meters of floor space, 2.5 meters ceiling height, and no structural columns or beams inside.
- The window is positioned at least 1.5 meters above the floor and must not have bars, serving as an emergency escape route.
Mamads are typically built as a dedicated room within each apartment or house, though in some older buildings or public spaces, shared or communal shelters are used instead. During missile attacks, residents are instructed to move quickly into the Mamad, close the door and window, and wait for the all-clear signal.
Effectiveness and Impact:
Mamads are not indestructible, but they drastically reduce the risk of injury or death during missile strikes. For example, while standing in the open leaves a person vulnerable to a large lethal area, being inside a Mamad reduces that risk by up to 250 times, thanks to its ability to absorb blast waves and block shrapnel. The odds of a missile directly hitting a Mamad are extremely low, especially in densely populated cities.
Recent missile barrages in 2025 have demonstrated the life-saving value of Mamads. While some casualties and injuries have occurred, the vast majority of those sheltering in Mamads survived even direct hits on buildings, underscoring the importance of these rooms in Israeli civil defense.
Despite their effectiveness, about 56–60% of Israeli homes still lack a Mamad, particularly in older buildings constructed before the law was enacted. This has led to ongoing efforts to retrofit existing structures and expand access to safe rooms across the country.
