Oref Alert

Hebrew video of the installation, configuration and usage can be found here. A blog post with Russian instructions can be found here.

The integration provides binary_sensor.oref_alert which turns on when an alert is reported by the Israeli National Emergency Portal (Pikud Haoref). The sensor monitors the alerts in the user selected areas. An alert is considered active for a certain period of time as configured by the user (10 minutes by default). The integration is installed and configured via the user interface. There is no YAML or templates involved.

Install

HACS is the preferred and easier way to install the component. When HACS is installed, the integration can be installed using this My button:

Otherwise, download oref_alert.zip from the latest release, extract and copy the content under custom_components directory.

Home Assistant restart is required once the integration files are copied (either by HACS or manually).

The integration should also be added to the configuration. This can be done via this My button:

The setup identifies the area according to the Home location in the Zones settings (the latitude and longitude coordinate). If the detection fails, the user is asked to select the area manually.

Once the component is installed, it's possible to control additional parameters using the Configure dialog which can be accessed via this My button:

There are 3 configuration fields:

1. Selected areas: list of areas to monitor. It's also possible to select a district (מחוז) and all-areas (כל האזורים) for cities with sub-areas.
2. Active duration of an alert: this is the alert's active time period (in minutes). The default is 10 minutes.
3. Add 'All Alerts' attributes: when it's off (the default) the attributes Country alerts and Selected areas alerts are not added to the binary sensors. These attributes hold the list of all alerts over the last 24-hours which can be long and cause performance issues on weaker systems. Both attributes are not used often and are not part of any example below.

All Areas Sensor

binary_sensor.oref_alert_all_areas is an additional sensor monitoring any active alert in the country. The sensor is on when there is one or more active alerts in Israel.

Additional Sensors

It's possible to create additional sensors using the action oref_alert.add_sensor. The action can be accessed via this My button:

The selected areas of an additional sensor can be different (non overlapping) than the primary sensor.

The action oref_alert.remove_sensor can be used for deleting an additional sensor. The action can be accessed via this My button:

The action oref_alert.edit_sensor can be used for editing an additional sensor by adding or removing areas. The action can be accessed via this My button:

Note: additional sensors created before v2.2.0 use a different implementation. It's better to delete such entities and to create new sensors using the new functionality (old sensors are not broken and can be used).

Additional Attributes

All sensors have the following attributes:

1. Areas: the list of areas provided by the user.
2. Alert active duration: as configured by the user.
3. Selected areas active alerts: when the sensor is on, the alerts are listed here.
4. Selected areas updates: the list of updates for the selected areas.
5. Selected areas alerts: active and inactive alerts in the selected areas. Exists only when the configuration "Add 'All Alerts' attributes" is turned on.
6. Country active alerts: all active alerts in Israel.
7. Country updates: all updates in Israel.
8. Country alerts: all alerts in Israel. Exists only when the configuration "Add 'All Alerts' attributes" is turned on.

Alert's Fields

Alerts and updates inside attributes have the following fields:

1. alertDate: e.g. 2025-06-30 15:00:00 (Israel timezone).
2. title: e.g. ירי רקטות וטילים. Always in Hebrew.
3. data: a single area name, e.g. תל אביב - מרכז העיר.
4. category: an integer of the category as listed here. Categories 13 and 14 are used for updates.
5. channel: the receiving channel. Below is the ordered list of options. When the same alert is coming on multiple channels, only the higher channel will be used. The fields of the alerts are normalized and have the same format regardless of the channel.
   1. website-history: the history file of the official website (polling).
   2. website: the real-time file of the official website (polling).
   3. mobile: the mobile notification channel of the official app.
   4. tzevaadom: the notification channel of tzevaadom.co.il.
   5. synthetic: synthetic alert for testing purposes generated via the synthetic-alert action.

Time To Shelter Sensors

The integration creates an additional set of sensors which monitor the time to shelter for a specific area. The ID of the entity is similar to the corresponding binary sensor, with the suffix of _time_to_shelter. For example, sensor.oref_alert_time_to_shelter. When there is a new alert in the area, the state of the sensor is set according to the instructions of Pikud Haoref for the selected area (e.g. 90 seconds in the middle of Israel). The state of the sensor decrements as time passes, and it becomes unknown once it reaches -60 seconds (one minute past due). The sensor has the following extra attributes:

1. Area: the name of the area.
2. Time to shelter: as provided by Pikud Haoref for the selected area (constant value).
3. Alert: the active alert (when there is such).
4. Display: a user-friendly string of the time in the format of "mm:ss".

Note: this sensor is not created when the configuration contains multiple areas or groups (e.g. cities with multiple areas or districts). It's possible in such a case to create an additional sensor configuration for the specific area of interest by using the action oref_alert.add_sensor.

Alert End Time Sensors

The integration creates an additional set of sensors which monitor the time to the end of the alert for a specific area. The ID of the entity is similar to the corresponding binary sensor, with the suffix of _end_time. For example, sensor.oref_alert_end_time. When there is a new alert in the area, the state of the sensor is set according to the Alert active duration as configured by the user (default is 10 minutes). The state of the sensor decrements as time passes, and it becomes unknown once the alert is off. The sensor has the following extra attributes:

1. Area: the name of the area.
2. Alert active duration: as configured by the user.
3. Alert: the active alert (when there is such).
4. Display: a user-friendly string of the time in the format of "mm:ss".

Note: this sensor is not created when the configuration contains multiple areas or groups (e.g. cities with multiple areas or districts). It's possible in such a case to create an additional sensor configuration for the specific area of interest by using the action oref_alert.add_sensor.

Updates Processing

Updates can be sent a few minutes before the alert. They can also be sent for indicating that it's safe to get out of the shelter. However, these updates are less structured so their parsing is not fully reliable and can get broken if the text (or category) is changed. Nevertheless, this data is valuable. Below you can see how it can be done (currently). Note that it can get broken, so keep monitoring for changes and change your settings accordingly:

→ Click + CREATE HELPER button → Template → Template a binary sensor:

Preemptive Update Binary Sensor

{{ is_state('binary_sensor.oref_alert', 'off') and state_attr('binary_sensor.oref_alert', 'selected_areas_updates') and state_attr('binary_sensor.oref_alert', 'selected_areas_updates')[0]['title'] is search('בדקות הקרובות') }}

Ending Update Binary Sensor

{{ is_state('binary_sensor.oref_alert', 'off') and state_attr('binary_sensor.oref_alert', 'selected_areas_updates') and state_attr('binary_sensor.oref_alert', 'selected_areas_updates')[0]['title'] is search('האירוע הסתיים') }}

Geo Location Entities

Geo-location entities are created for every active alert in Israel (regardless of the selected areas). These entities exist while the corresponding alert is active (10 minutes by default). The state of the entity is the distance in kilometers from HA home's coordinate. In addition, each entity has the following attributes:

1. friendly_name: alert's area
2. latitude
3. longitude
4. home_distance: same as the state, but an integer type and not a string (state is always a string)
5. title: alert's description
6. date
7. category: integer with alert's category
8. icon: Material icon ("mdi:xxx") based on the category
9. emoji: based on the category

The map card can be used to present the entities on a map. oref_alert should be added to geo_location_sources, and auto_fit should be set to true:

type: map
entities: []
auto_fit: true
geo_location_sources:
  - oref_alert

This will create a map presenting all active alerts in Israel:

(Below you can find a another explanation on how to add a textual element for the data.)

Events

A new event is fired on HA bus for any new alert. Here is an example of such an event:

event_type: oref_alert_event
data:
  area: תל אביב - מרכז העיר
  home_distance: 9.7
  latitude: 32.0798
  longitude: 34.7772
  category: 1
  title: ירי רקטות וטילים
  icon: mdi:rocket-launch
  emoji: 🚀
  source: mobile

In the Mobile Notifications: Detailed Alerts section there is an example for usage of this event.

Events are also fired for updates. Their type is oref_alert_update_event instead of oref_alert_event. Here is an example of such an event:

event_type: oref_alert_update_event
data:
  area: תל אביב - מרכז העיר
  home_distance: 9.7
  latitude: 32.0798
  longitude: 34.7772
  category: 13
  title: ניתן לצאת מהמרחב המוגן
  icon: mdi:message-alert
  emoji: ⚠
  source: website

Synthetic Alert

Synthetic alerts are useful for testing purposes. The action oref_alert.synthetic_alert can be used to create a synthetic alert. The action can be accessed via this My button:

Note: a synthetic alert is an additional alert. It doesn't override or hide any other alert. A synthetic alert disappears after the amount of seconds supplied to the action. This is different from a regular alert which disappears only after 24 hours.

Template Functions

The integration adds the following template helper functions:

oref_areas

Returns the list of areas. By default, group of areas (like districts and cities' "all areas" for cities with multiple areas) are not included. It's possible to set the 1st parameter (groups) to True to include them.

{{ oref_areas() }}

{{ oref_areas(True) }}

oref_district

Gets an area name and returns its district. If no mapping is found, the return value is the input area name. Can be used also as a filter.

{{ oref_district('פתח תקווה') == 'דן' }}

{{ ['area name'] | map('oref_district') }}

oref_coordinate

Gets an area name and returns the coordinate of the city center as a tuple (lat, lon). If no mapping is found, the return value is None. Can be used also as a filter.

{{ oref_coordinate('פתח תקווה') == (32.084, 34.8878) }}

{{ 'area name' | oref_coordinate }}

oref_shelter

Gets an area name and returns its time to shelter (seconds). If no mapping is found, the return value is None. Can be used also as a filter.

{{ oref_shelter('פתח תקווה') == 90 }}

{{ 'area name' | oref_shelter }}

oref_icon

Gets a category (int) and returns the corresponding MDI icon (has "mdi:" prefix). If no mapping is found, the return value is "mdi:alert". Can be used also as a filter.

{{ oref_icon(1) == 'mdi:rocket-launch' }}

{{ 2 | oref_icon == 'mdi:airplane-alert' }}

oref_emoji

Gets a category (int) and returns the corresponding emoji. If no mapping is found, the return value is "🚨". Can be used also as a filter.

{{ oref_emoji(1) == '🚀' }}

{{ [2] | map('oref_emoji') | list == ['✈️'] }}

oref_distance

Gets an area name and measures the distance between the area's coordinate and home, an entity, or coordinate (similar to the built-in distance function). The unit of measurement (kilometers or miles) depends on the system’s configuration settings. If the area name is not found, the return value is None. Can be used also as a filter.

{{ oref_distance('פתח תקווה') }}

{{ ['area name'] | map('oref_distance', 'device_tracker.amits_iphone') }}

oref_test_distance

Gets an area name and a distance and other optional parameters that will be passed to oref_distance. Returns True if the distance is less than or equals to the distance. If the area name is not found, the return value is False. Can be used also as a test.

{{ oref_test_distance('area name', 5, 'device_tracker.amits_iphone')}}

{{ ['area name'] | select('oref_test_distance', 5) }}

oref_find_area

Returns area by coordinate (lat, lon). The coordinate can be anywhere inside the area's polygon. If no area is found, the return value is None. Can be used also as a filter. Unavailable for limited templates.

{{ oref_find_area(32.072, 34.879) == 'פתח תקווה' }}

{{ (32.0798, 34.7772) | oref_find_area == 'תל אביב - מרכז העיר' }}

{{ oref_find_area(state_attr('device_tracker.amits_iphone', 'latitude'), state_attr('device_tracker.amits_iphone', 'longitude')) }}

Usages

The basic usage is to trigger an automation rule when the binary sensor is turning on. Some ideas for the actions section can be: play a song (can be less stressful when choosing the right song and setting the volume properly), open the lights and TV in the shelter, etc'. It's also possible to trigger an alert when the sensor is turning off for getting an indication when it's safe to get out of the shelter.

Below are a few more examples:

Coloring State Icons

type: entities
entities:
  - entity: binary_sensor.oref_alert
    card_mod:
      style: |
        :host {
          --state-binary_sensor-on-color: red;
          --state-binary_sensor-off-color: green;
          }

Note that it depends on the installation of card-mod lovelace custom component.

Displaying Countdown Timers

type: entities
entities:
  - entity: sensor.oref_alert_time_to_shelter
    type: attribute
    attribute: display
  - entity: sensor.oref_alert_end_time
    type: attribute
    attribute: display

Presenting Active Alerts in Israel

Here is a markdown card for presenting all active alerts sorted by their distance from HA's home coordinate (the list of categories is based on this file):

type: markdown
content: >-
  {% for alert in states.geo_location |
     selectattr('entity_id', 'in', integration_entities('oref_alert')) |
     sort(attribute='attributes.home_distance') %}
    <p>
      <font color="red"><ha-icon icon="{{ alert.attributes.icon }}"></ha-icon></font>
      <a href="https://maps.google.com/?q={{ alert.attributes.latitude }},{{ alert.attributes.longitude }}">{{ alert.name }}</a>
      [{{ alert.state | int }} ק״מ]
      ({{ alert.attributes.date | as_timestamp | timestamp_custom('%H:%M') }})
    </p>
  {% endfor %}
card_mod:
  style: |
    ha-card {
      direction: rtl;
    }

(The card_mod section at the bottom is only required when the language is English. It forces RTL for this element. Note that it requires the installation of card-mod lovelace custom component.)

Mobile Notifications

Combined Alerts

Here is an automation rule for getting mobile notifications for new alerts:

alias: Oref Alert Country Notifications
id: oref_alert_country_notifications
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.oref_alert
    attribute: country_active_alerts
actions:
  - variables:
      current: "{{ trigger.to_state.attributes.country_active_alerts | map(attribute='data') | list }}"
      previous: "{{ trigger.from_state.attributes.country_active_alerts | map(attribute='data') | list }}"
      alerts: "{{ current | difference(previous) | unique | sort | list }}"
      alerts_per_push: "{{ (150 / (alerts | map('length') | average(0) | add(3))) | int }}"
  - repeat:
      while:
        - condition: template
          value_template: "{{ alerts | length > 0 }}"
      sequence:
        - action: notify.mobile_app_amits_iphone
          data:
            title: התרעות פיקוד העורף
            message: "{{ alerts[:alerts_per_push] | join(' | ') }}"
        - variables:
            alerts: "{{ alerts[alerts_per_push:] }}"
mode: queued

It's possible to get only alerts which are close to home (in the example below it's 10km from home). To do that, the current variable should be defined as:

current: "{{ trigger.to_state.attributes.country_active_alerts | map(attribute='data') | select('oref_test_distance', 10) | list }}"

Detailed Alerts

This is a different approach where only alerts which are either within 30km from home or 5km from Amit's current location generate notifications. However, each notification has additional information (and being sent separately):

alias: Oref Alert Country Notifications Details
id: oref_alert_country_notifications_details
triggers:
  - trigger: event
    event_type: oref_alert_event
actions:
  - condition: or
    conditions:
      - condition: template
        value_template: "{{ trigger.event.data.home_distance < 30 }}"
      - condition: template
        value_template: "{{ distance('device_tracker.amits_iphone', trigger.event.data.latitude, trigger.event.data.longitude) < 5 }}"
  - action: notify.mobile_app_amits_iphone
    data:
      title: התרעות פיקוד העורף
      message: "{{ trigger.event.data.emoji }} {{ trigger.event.data.area }} [{{ trigger.event.data.title }}] ({{ trigger.event.data.home_distance | int }} ק״מ)"
mode: queued

Updates

Here is an automation rule for getting mobile notifications for updates:

alias: Oref Alert Updates
id: oref_alert_updates
mode: parallel
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.oref_alert
    attribute: selected_areas_updates
actions:
  - variables:
      title: הודעה מפיקוד העורף לאזורך
      previous_length: "{{ trigger.from_state.attributes.selected_areas_updates | length }}"
      previous_message: "{{ trigger.from_state.attributes.selected_areas_updates[0]['title'] if previous_length > 0 else None }}"
      length: "{{ trigger.to_state.attributes.selected_areas_updates | length }}"
      message: "{{ trigger.to_state.attributes.selected_areas_updates[0]['title'] if length > 0 else None }}"
  - condition: "{{ message and message != previous_message }}"
  - action: notify.mobile_app_amits_iphone
    data:
      title: "{{ title }}"
      message: "{{ message }}"
  - action: tts.google_translate_say
    data:
      entity_id: media_player.shelter_speaker
      language: iw
      message: "{{ title }}: {{ message }}"

Custom Sound

It's possible to set a custom sound for a specific mobile app push notification. Here is an iOS example:

action: notify.mobile_app_amits_iphone
data:
  title: התרעות פיקוד העורף
  message: <<omitted-in-example>>
  data:
    push:
      sound: US-EN-Morgan-Freeman-Vacate-The-Premises.wav

Additional information (for Android and iOS) can be found here.

Time To Shelter Countdown

Here is another advanced usage for counting down (every 5 seconds) the time to shelter:

alias: Oref Alert Time To Shelter Countdown
id: oref_alert_time_to_shelter_countdown
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: sensor.oref_alert_time_to_shelter
actions:
  - variables:
      time_to_shelter: "{{ states('sensor.oref_alert_time_to_shelter') | int(-1) }}"
  - condition: "{{ time_to_shelter >= 0 and time_to_shelter % 5 == 0}}"
  - action: tts.google_translate_say
    data:
      entity_id: media_player.shelter_speaker
      language: iw
      message: "{{ time_to_shelter }}"
mode: queued

Removing the Integration

1. Delete the configuration:

   • Open the integration page (my-link), click the 3‑dot menu (⋮), and select Delete.

2. Remove the integration files:

   • If the integration was installed via HACS, follow the official HACS removal instructions.
   • Otherwise, manually delete the integration’s folder custom_components/oref_alert.

📌 A Home Assistant core restart is required in both cases to fully apply the removal.

Contributions are welcome!

If you want to contribute to this please read the Contribution guidelines

Acknowledgements

• Thanks to Edo Yeheskel for the idea, reference and tremendous help in implementing the MQTT channel.
• Thanks to Gugulator for the Russian translation as well as many great ideas during our brainstorming sessions.