On Wednesday Israeli government officials, the military, emergency responders, local governments, and millions of civilians across the nation took part in a simulation of a simultaneous mass missile strike; the exercise has been held every year for the past five years but is unique in that it was the first time the entire population was asked to participate by seeking cover; in the simulation 7,000 missiles have rained down across the country and hundreds have been killed and thousands wounded; emergency responders practiced treating large numbers of casualties while school children practiced entering bomb shelters