Bat Yam's spirits remain strong, mayor tells 'Post' as city recovers from brutal Iran bombings

Emergency teams are stretched to their limit and working under fire, and at the same time know "that the exact same thing could happen tomorrow, or in an hour, or half an hour," he described.

This means around 1,500 Bat Yam residents with no permanent roof over their heads are currently put up in hotels.

The site of the impact, where nine were killed and around 200 injured by an Iranian strike in the early hours of Sunday morning, is so complex that one woman is still missing, Brot said.

"Today, now as we speak, it's the fifth day. Four and a half days have gone by, and they haven't finished the rescue work. There is still one woman missing in the rubble whom they have not managed to find," he said.

This is because the complexity and size of the wreckage created by the impact are unprecedented, Brot explained, adding that teams are working around the clock with all kinds of technology, heavy machinery, and search and rescue dogs.

While the woman's phone has been located in the rubble, forces are still unable to find her, Brot said.

Some veteran Home Front Command soldiers have told Brot that the scene reminds them of things they have seen at the site of major earthquakes, such as in Haiti or Turkey.

Working at the site of the wreckage while knowing the city could face the same type of devastation from another strike at any time, Brot ensured that all emergency teams had backups ready.

He also prepared teams working at the site that they may have to move to another site at any time, telling them to be prepared for this possibility.

Brot saw that his teams were ready for this on Thursday morning when another strike in Bat Yam caused some fires and destroyed a number of cars. Some people were treated for anxiety after the strike, but no other injuries were reported.

Brot has been focused on preparation for emergencies for years, he said, stressing that his municipality was preparing even without knowing what could happen.

"We did not know there would be a war, we did not know there would be all of the operations in the south over the course of the years, but for five or six years we have been preparing for any possible scenario, including very large catastrophes," he said.

The last exercise the municipality did was just two days before the strike, he said. Teams practiced responding to a scenario in which ten buildings were hit.

"My staff told me it was not a believable scenario," he said, explaining that drills of this kind normally assume that three or four buildings have been hit.

"Two days later, I reminded them of that when we had 75 buildings [that were uninhabitable]," Brot said, adding that this number quickly climbed to 109.

The drills paid off, he said. "We prepared for very similar things, and it helped us very much."

Brot explained why he wanted to be ready for a scenario considered so extreme, saying that it was clear to him that as a large city in Gush Dan, Bat Yam would see an impact at some point, even though he did not anticipate it would be as extreme as it was.

He also stressed that Bat Yam has dealt with impacts in the days since October 7, which was another way he knew he had to prepare.

"I kept telling my staff we have to be ready even if it seems like an imaginary or far away scenario."

After the strike, one of the most urgent needs the municipality worked to fill was accommodation for the 1,500 people left without a place to stay.

"First of all, we immediately took them all to hotels. We decided that we are not waiting for the government and not arguing with anyone," said Brot, explaining that the municipality did not quibble over the extent of damages to homes, and gave hotel rooms to whoever's home was impacted.

"It was important to us to ensure that we were not missing anyone," Brot explained.

"You can't manage this scale of event when you get into the resolutions of whether or not a window destroyed was big enough to justify a hotel [room for the resident]."

After making sure evacuees had rooms, the municipality supplied them with toiletries, clothing, and food vouchers. The strike was at 3 a.m. Brot said, so people "left their house... with nothing other than the pyjamas they were wearing."

The municipality is investing in this effort, but national and international aid organizations are also pitching in along with philanthropists and businesses, Brot said, adding that he wanted to send them a "big thank you."

He added that the municipality is working with the government and that so far, when it comes to help from the state, "the direction is certainly positive."

He stressed that this is not enough and that the government's response will be evaluated by results. "You can't go to the corner store with a positive direction," he said.

"If the government continues to uphold what was promised to us, I am sure that we will soon see good, important government efforts that can provide a real response" for residents, he said.

"There is a lot of goodwill and we welcome that, but the only test is the results."

He stressed the importance of reducing bureaucracy so that evacuees will be able to get state compensation and return to normal as quickly as possible.

This should be a national priority, Brot said, explaining that the IDF chief of staff told him that without seeing that the state is taking care of them, citizens will not be able to give the IDF the breathing room it needs to continue the war.

If people's needs are not met, and "people begin to rightfully complain that they are being left behind and forgotten,  the public backing for the IDF will quickly end."

"They can't go home... all their childhood memories gone, all their personal belongings, not to mention clothes and appliances, [are gone]," he said.

Some lost invaluable, sentimental items or necessary medical equipment.

"There are older people there, for example, who need medical equipment. There is a bereaved family, and all the possessions of their son, who fell, were there, and they were very attached to those and wanted them," he said.

Citizens not directly impacted by the strike are showing incredible resilience, he said. "It makes me proud."

"The city took one of the hardest hits in its history, the greatest tragedy where nine were killed in one day, and yet, everyone's spirit is strong," he said, adding that residents have asked him to convey to Israel's leadership that they want the country to "keep going full force."

"I do think this disaster only stressed the need to fight the axis of evil and what Iran wants to achieve - which is the destruction of the state of Israel," he said. "If this is what Iran does with conventional weapons, we can only imagine what it would do with nuclear weapons."

Everyone is "united behind the need to continue," he said.

He added that he believes that resilience centers, such as are operated in Israel's South, could be a meaningful tool for helping citizens handle the mental health repercussions of the situation. He intends to work with partners around the world to fundraise to make this happen.

The municipality is also coordinating teams of volunteers, and Brot has been touched seeing just how many Bat Yam residents have come together to help each other and to support the IDF soldiers still working at the site of the impact.

"I have seen an enormous amount of people leave home to help [the evacuees]," he said.

But the biggest and most meaningful light for Brot has been seeing those evacuated from their homes after the strike come out to help other residents in the city.

"It's the Bat Yam spirit that really defines this town," he said.