#OpIsrael  Survival tips for civilians in areas of urban conflict

Some of these may sound quite obvious, but people easily forget/ignore in stressful conditions, so I will reiterate them anyway…

1. If you hear close weapons activity, DO NOT leave your building unless absolutely
essential

2. If you do have to, DON'T walk in a straight line and resist the temptation to run, stay low

– The human eye recognizes movement before light and colour, if someone wants a target
and you are moving quicky, you will be seen more easily
– Your body is saying RUN LIKE MAD and so is that adrenaline high you are experiencing,
anticipate shakes, high nausea levels and a strong volition to move quickly.

3. If you cannot leave or decide to stay, and start hearing explosions or feel a large impact to your building, stand in a doorway. If there is no convenient doorway nearby move any large object (table, large chair) you can near to a supporting wall and get under it.

– A supporting wall is a wall that others stem from, the 'spine' of a building, usually the most centrally-running and/or thickest wall in the building but NOT an external wall

4. Move to ground floor, moving as low as possible past any windows BUT if you hear loud/rushed conversation directly below you, DO NOT RUSH DOWN. not being on the ground floor is far from ideal, but neither is running into combat-stressed individuals with weapons who have holed up in your building

– Take your time at the point of descent (stairs), if in doubt, find the most secure spot and wait until you feel safer to move on.
– Again, your body is screaming RUN RUN RUN, many unfortunate casualties happen due to this behaviour

5. If you need to signal, DO NOT S.O.S in morse code, for 2 reasons;

– S.O.S can either not be noticed or to be misinterpreted
– Using morse may signify to someone observing that you may have some military training potentially, trust me, this can cause a lot of misunderstanding and attention your way

THE INTERNATIONAL SYMBOL FOR DISTRESS IS SIX SHORT WHISTLE BLASTS/MIRROR FLASHES, PAUSE FOR 30 SECS, REPEAT

6. Mirror Flashes – the correct way to get noticed is not to just move around a shiny surface;

– Make a 'peace' V with your fingers, aim the bright reflection towards one of the fingers
– Aim your V at the direction you wish to signal, and flash the bright reflective patch from your object past your two fingers back and forth – the reflection is thus precisely aimed to catch any attention you aim at.

7. One of the best things in a survival situation is actually your cellphone. If it (or a network) is dead, smash it open.

– There is usually a highly reflective plate located behind the screen
– The circuit boards can be sharpened to give a very nice and reliable cutting edge if a knife is needed but unavailable (sharpens on stone/concrete floor easily – sharpen ONE side only holding the board at a 30 degree angle from the floor)

8. Fire: is not ideal in any conflict area, can become uncontrolled and/or attract unwanted attention.

– If needed, cellphone comes in handy again. That battery may not be able to power the phone, but using any thin wiring, surround the wire with whatever you wish to start the flame with (dry fabric, paper shreds, dry plant) and connect one end to +ve and one end to -ve, it gets VERY hot VERY quickly (sometimes white hot if using wiring from the phone itself)
– Making a fire in a building is a BAD IDEA. Even if you control its size, a mild yet prolonged fire will, in a small airless space, produce things you don't want to breathe in, and suck out what you do want to breathe in. Sleepyness becomes unconsciousness becomes death.

9. Move out (of range/target area)

– Do not think it is a good idea to travel to places/buildings of authority looking for help unless specifically told to do so. Areas of importance to military or authority, and known large groups of people (eg. a hospital) will be the first major targets of any competent enemy force, remove the danger by removing yourself from such locations.
– Move to opposite edges of your geographical area to the conflict, or if surrounded by conflict to a degree, move centrally but NOT TO THE ABSOLUTE CENTRE – find shelter in a quiet place until it is safe to move to an even safer area.

10. Take notes – Try to find something to write with and on and ask EVERYONE YOU MEET if they have heard ANYTHING.

-A good questions checklist would be
a) Are there any new designated safe areas?
b) Any news on the levels of safety in local medical centres? (never know when one might be needed, good to know if any are no go areas.
c) Any new resource points? food, water, shelter?
d) Which direction have you come from? NO NOT trust your ears to suss out a dangerous direction to avoid, in urban environments, sound reflection can completely distort where the danger is.
e) Have you heard of any safe routes leading far away from the conflict?

– The first priority is the security of you and your group, ask questions relative to that first!
– Updates on political progress to end a conflict will trickle through and are not the immediate priority to an individual in a conflict zone, don't waste your time talking about it.

11. Emergency first aid: is very dangerous if done by a person with no experience. If, however your group is affected by explosion or similar and feel you have to, always check the people who are not moving or even awake but very quiet FIRST, the screamers are telling you 2 things, 1) they are still alive and 2) either little or no head trauma. While you may gravitate towards a distressed sounding person first, the ones in more need are the ones not making any sound.

– If unconscious, check pulse
– If pulse found, make sure their mouth is closed (opens airway)
– Firmly, but not shouting, say "can you hear me?" and holding both shoulders VERY LIGHTLY shake them as you speak.
– If no response, tilt your head horizontally, holding ear close to nose/mouth of patient looking down the body.
to feel air flow with your ear OR see chest rising and falling with breathing.
– If pulse but no breathing, start assisted breathing, two deep exhales into the mouth of the patient every 30 secs.
– Try to revive again with VERY LIGHT shaking with a hand no each shoulder, repeat "can you hear me?"
– If no pulse, begin compressions: 2 deep breaths into mouth of victim followed by 30 chest compressions (this is current advised standard).
– Chest compressions are dangerous, don't use whole body weight!!!
using your LEFT Hand, seat the palm of your hand (so the fingers point right) in the slight groove of the breast bone, place your right hand above your left.
– With straightened arms, press downwards (DO NOT RUSH/PRESS TOO HARD) in a CONTROLLED, CALM manner.

Be under no illusions, CPR is not successful in restarting a heart, it simply allows the chance for enough oxygen to reach vital areas of the body until such a time that a medical team can restart the heart correctly.

People have been successfully revived after correct CPR after having no pulse for a much longer time than the usual point of brain damage and death from hypoxia.

UNSKILLED ATTEMPTS AT FIRST AID ARE STILL VERY DANGEROUS, SERIOUSLY CONSIDER THIS BEFORE COMMENCING ANY AID

12. Bug-out bag: prepare a bag full of emergency essentials if you need to exit in a hurry, good items are:

– Knife (contrary to the idea of a 'good' knife, folding knives with a reliable locking mechanism is best in case you fall on your bag)
– Water (2 Litre is ideal (2 day supply for one) but whatever you can fit)
– As much of the least perishable food items as you can fit in, freeze dried meals are optimum but understandably not widely available in many conflict regions). If really stretched, take a balg of flour and more water to make a quick hard dough once relatively safe and cook it over a fire, can be sustaining for a short period as your only meal
– As many different ways of fire starting as you have, lighters, matches etc
– Our seemingly useless dead cellphone, or far more usefully a spare working cellphone, stick it in the bag
– A small pot or big cup for cooking in
– Spare items of clothing to suit for 2 complete sets of fresh gear for 2 days
– Waterproof warm jacket if available (even in hot dry climates, you never know (and i know the desert is f****** cold at night))
– First aid kit if available

Naturally, this list can suit for many different environments but takes up a lot of space, if no large bag is available, you may have to cut out the clothing and maybe other items, but if you are lucky enough to be able to prepare a bug-out bag, DO NOT leave out the food water and knife.  Place your bug out bag in a very visible location near what you use as your main exit of your premises.

13. Some hard facts

A) If a member/members of your group die and you are in close proximity to combat, your main priority is the remaining survivors in your group.  The honourable approach of 'never leave a man behind' is usually a code that is adopted by trained combat professionals who are more capable of achieving this should they wish. You will probably not have military training and MUST make the horrible decision to leave the deceased and concentrate on the survival of the rest of your group (very highly trained operatives know that whatever moral code is in place, transporting the dead is simply not feasible in areas of intense combat (or areas with no friendly forces within close (20 miles) radius), Hollywood does not know what it is talking about).

B) If you are not used to it, very large natural doses of adrenaline will mess with you in a big way. A trick if you are feeling overwhelmed and panicked is to look and concentrate on immediate objects and mentally say them eg door, table, light etc, to bring you back into a more stable way of thinking.  One of the worst effects of adrenaline is sudden memory loss (you just freeze and go blank) linking with inbuilt natural defence mechanisms. Prepare for this as best you can, go over and over action plans mentally BEFORE any danger occurs.
example, think about if a bomb explodes/shooting begins:
What are my exit routes from the area?
Who is around me that I must aid?
What is my first choice of safe haven after getting away?
Is my bug-out bag ready? Where is it?

C) Grief is almost as disabling as an adrenaline rush, you have to try your best to SHUT IT OUT until you are in a position far safer. To link to point a), it is extrelemy hard to leave a very close family member or a child if dead and your body will not want you to do it.  A decision in these moments could potentially save or end your life.

Good luck, and be safe.