Pikud Haoref Real-Time Alert System

A comprehensive middleware service and MCP server for accessing Israeli emergency alerts from the official Pikud Haoref (Israeli Home Front Command) API.

Overview

This project provides two ways to access Israeli emergency alert data using a publish-subscribe architecture:

1. FastAPI Middleware Service - Single source polling with real-time SSE streaming
2. MCP Server - Event-driven subscriber for AI assistants (built with FastMCP)

The FastAPI service polls the official Pikud Haoref API at https://www.oref.org.il/WarningMessages/alert/alerts.json and publishes alerts via Server-Sent Events. The MCP server subscribes to this stream, creating an efficient pub-sub system that eliminates duplicate API calls while providing real-time access to emergency alerts including rocket alerts, aerial intrusions, earthquakes, and other emergencies.

Features

FastAPI Service Features

• Single-source polling of emergency alerts (eliminates duplicate API calls)
• Real-time SSE streaming via public webhook endpoint
• API key authentication for client endpoints and geo-restriction to Israel
• Docker support for easy deployment
• Comprehensive testing suite

MCP Server Features

• Event-driven SSE client - Subscribes to FastAPI webhook for real-time alerts
• 3 Tools for AI assistants:
  • check_current_alerts - Check for active alerts from subscribed stream
  • get_alert_history - Get recent alerts with filtering (limit: 1-50, region filter, intelligent city matching)
  • get_connection_status - Check SSE subscription connection status
• 2 Resources:
  • poha://alerts/recent - JSON data of recent alerts
  • poha://alerts/current-status - System status information
• Smart City Filtering:
  • Exact substring matching - Find alerts by city name (e.g., "תל אביב" matches all Tel Aviv areas)
  • Fuzzy matching - Intelligent matching with threshold 60 for partial/similar names
  • Multi-city support - Search multiple cities simultaneously
  • Hebrew city names - Optimized for Hebrew location names from the API
• Built with FastMCP following proven patterns
• Automatic reconnection and error handling for SSE connections

API Endpoints (FastAPI Service)

GET /

Basic status endpoint.

GET /api/alerts-stream

Headers: X-API-Key: your-key

Server-Sent Events stream for real-time alerts (authenticated endpoint). Returns:

• event: new_alert - When a new alert is detected
• : keep-alive - Periodic keep-alive messages

GET /api/webhook/alerts

Headers: X-API-Key: your-key

Internal SSE webhook endpoint for services like the MCP server. Streams the same alert data as the client endpoint and requires the same API key authentication for security. Designed for server-to-server communication.

Example response for both endpoints:

event: new_alert
data: {"id": "12345", "data": ["Tel Aviv", "Ramat Gan"], "cat": "1", "title": "Rocket Alert", "desc": "Immediate shelter required"}

: keep-alive

Architecture

The system uses a publish-subscribe architecture with the following components:

1. Pikud Haoref API - External data source (government emergency alerts)
2. FastAPI Middleware - Single source polling + SSE publisher (polls every 2 seconds)
3. MCP Server - SSE subscriber + tool provider for AI assistants
4. Client Applications - Web frontends, mobile apps, AI assistants, or other services

Pikud Haoref API ←→ [Single Poller] ←→ FastAPI Middleware ←→ [SSE Stream] ←→ MCP Server → AI Assistants
                                              ↓
                                          [SSE Stream] ←→ Web Clients

Key Benefits:

• ✅ 50% reduction in API calls (single polling source)
• ✅ Real-time propagation of alerts via SSE
• ✅ Event-driven architecture for better scalability
• ✅ Automatic reconnection for robust SSE connections

Visual Diagram: Run python diagram.py to generate poha_sse_architecture.png showing the complete system architecture.

Security Features

API Key Authentication (Required for All Endpoints)

Important: API key authentication is required for both SSE endpoints for security.

• Both SSE endpoints require API key authentication via X-API-Key header
• MCP server connects with authentication to the internal webhook endpoint
• Same API key used for both client and internal service authentication

Geo-Restriction (Optional)

Configure GEOIP_DB_PATH to restrict access to Israeli IP addresses only:

1. Sign up at MaxMind
2. Download GeoLite2-Country.mmdb
3. Set GEOIP_DB_PATH in your .env file

Development

Project Structure

poha-real-time-alert-system/
├── src/                     # Main source code
│   ├── core/               # Core MCP functionality
│   │   ├── mcp_server.py   # MCP server implementation
│   │   ├── state.py        # Application state management
│   │   └── alert_queue.py  # Alert queue management
│   ├── api/                # FastAPI services
│   │   ├── main.py         # FastAPI application entry point
│   │   └── sse_gateway.py  # SSE gateway for VSCode extension
│   ├── services/           # Business logic
│   │   ├── polling.py      # Core API polling logic
│   │   └── sse.py          # Server-Sent Events implementation
│   └── utils/              # Utilities
│       ├── security.py     # Authentication and geo-restriction
│       └── geolocation.py  # Geo-IP functionality
├── docker/                 # Docker configuration
│   ├── Dockerfile         # Main FastAPI container
│   ├── mcp.Dockerfile     # MCP server container
│   └── docker-compose.yml # Multi-service setup
├── scripts/               # Utility scripts
│   ├── start_mcp.sh       # MCP server startup script
│   └── diagram.py         # Architecture diagram generator
├── tests/                 # Comprehensive test suite
├── vscode-extension/      # VSCode extension for alerts
├── conftest.py           # Test configuration
├── pytest.ini           # Test settings
├── Makefile             # Docker management commands
├── requirements.txt     # Python dependencies
├── README.md           # This file
└── .gitignore         # Git ignore rules

Testing

# Run tests in Docker
make test

# Or run tests locally
pytest -v

Dependencies

• Core: fastapi, uvicorn, httpx, python-dotenv
• Security: geoip2, slowapi
• MCP: fastmcp, fuzzywuzzy, python-Levenshtein
• Testing: pytest, pytest-asyncio, respx

Data Source

• API: https://www.oref.org.il/WarningMessages/alert/alerts.json
• Provider: Israeli Government (Pikud Haoref - Home Front Command)
• Coverage: All emergency alerts in Israel
• Update Frequency: Every 2 seconds
• Data Types: Rocket alerts, aerial intrusions, earthquakes, emergency announcements

Use Cases

• Emergency Response Teams - Real-time alert monitoring
• News Organizations - Breaking news automation
• Israeli Residents - Personal safety notifications
• Researchers - Emergency pattern analysis
• AI Assistants - Contextual emergency information
• Mobile Apps - Push notification services
• Smart Home Systems - Automated responses to alerts

SQLite Persistence

Alerts are persisted to a local SQLite database (via aiosqlite) for historical queries. The database is created automatically on startup.

• Default path: data/alerts.db (configurable via DATABASE_PATH env var)
• Tables: alerts (full alert data) + city_alerts (denormalized for fast city lookup)
• Indexed on city name and timestamp for fast queries

REST API Endpoints

In addition to the SSE streaming endpoints, the following REST endpoints are available:

Examples:

curl http://localhost:8000/health
curl "http://localhost:8000/api/alerts/history?city=תל אביב&limit=10"
curl http://localhost:8000/api/alerts/city/חיפה
curl http://localhost:8000/api/alerts/stats

OpenClaw Integration

To use the Pikud HaOref MCP server with OpenClaw, add to your openclaw.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pikud-haoref": {
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8001/mcp"
    }
  }
}

See openclaw-config-example.json and skills/pikud-haoref/SKILL.md for full details.

Additional MCP Tools (SQLite-backed)

Disclaimer

This service provides access to official Israeli emergency alert data but is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Israeli government or Pikud Haoref. Always follow official emergency procedures and consult official sources for critical safety information.

Quick Start

Important: The Pikud HaOref API (oref.org.il) geo-blocks non-Israeli IPs. You must run the services on a machine with an Israeli IP — either locally in Israel or on a GCP me-west1 (Tel Aviv) VM.

1. Deploy with Docker (Recommended)

# Clone and deploy (one command)
git clone <repo-url> && cd pikud-a-oref-mcp
make deploy   # Creates .env, builds 3 containers, starts, health-checks

# Manage services
make logs     # View logs from all services
make status   # Show container status
make down     # Stop all services
make restart  # Rebuild and restart

After startup, services are available at:

• FastAPI + Swagger UI: http://localhost:8000/docs
• MCP Server: http://localhost:8001/mcp
• SSE Gateway: http://localhost:8002/api/alerts-stream

2. Configure your MCP client

Add to VS Code mcp.json, Claude Desktop config, or Cursor config:

{
  "servers": {
    "pikud-haoref": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:8001/mcp"
    }
  }
}

3. Test alerts

make test-alert       # Hebrew missile alert (תל אביב, רמת גן)
make test-alert-en    # English earthquake alert (Jerusalem, Haifa)
make test-alert-drill # Drill alert (כל הארץ)

4. Connect to SSE stream

curl -N -H "X-API-Key: dev-secret-key" http://localhost:8000/api/alerts-stream

Local Development (without Docker)

pip install -r requirements.txt

# Start services individually (3 separate terminals)
uvicorn src.api.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 --reload  # Terminal 1
python -m src.core.mcp_server                                   # Terminal 2
uvicorn src.api.sse_gateway:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8002      # Terminal 3

MCP Tools Usage

Check Current Alerts

Use the check_current_alerts tool to see if there are any active emergency alerts from the subscribed SSE stream.

Get Alert History MCP

Use get_alert_history with limit=5 to get the 5 most recent alerts from the API.
Use get_alert_history with region="Tel Aviv" to get alerts for a specific region.
Use get_alert_history with cities=["תל אביב"] to get alerts for Tel Aviv (all areas).
Use get_alert_history with cities=["תל אביב", "חיפה"] to get alerts for multiple cities.
Use get_alert_history with cities=["תל אביב מרכז"] for specific areas with fuzzy matching.

City Filtering Examples:

• cities=["תל אביב"] - Finds all Tel Aviv areas (דרום העיר ויפו, מזרח, מרכז העיר, עבר הירקון)
• cities=["חיפה"] - Finds all Haifa-related alerts
• cities=["תל אביב", "חיפה", "ירושלים"] - Multiple cities simultaneously
• cities=["תל אביב מרכז"] - Fuzzy matches to "תל אביב - מרכז העיר"
• cities=["all"] - No city filtering (shows all alerts)

Check Connection Status

Use get_connection_status to verify the SSE subscription connection and see system health.

Docker Deployment

Services Overview

The system runs 3 Docker containers:

Docker Commands

make deploy     # One-command deploy (build + start + health-check)
make up         # Start all 3 services
make down       # Stop all services
make restart    # Rebuild and restart
make logs       # View all logs
make status     # Show container status
make clean      # Remove containers and volumes

Production Deployment (GCP me-west1)

The oref.org.il API geo-blocks non-Israeli IPs. For production, deploy on a GCP e2-micro VM in me-west1 (Tel Aviv) — free-tier eligible with an Israeli IP.

Setup

# 1. Create free VM in Tel Aviv
gcloud compute instances create pikud-haoref \
  --zone=me-west1-a \
  --machine-type=e2-micro \
  --image-family=debian-12 \
  --image-project=debian-cloud \
  --tags=http-server

# 2. Allow ports 8000-8002
gcloud compute firewall-rules create allow-pikud-haoref \
  --allow=tcp:8000-8002 --target-tags=http-server

# 3. SSH and install Docker
gcloud compute ssh pikud-haoref --zone=me-west1-a
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER && newgrp docker

# 4. Clone, configure, and deploy
git clone <repo-url> && cd pikud-a-oref-mcp
cp .env.example .env  # Edit API_KEY for production!
make deploy

GCP Service URLs

Replace <GCP_VM_IP> with your VM's external IP:

Why GCP me-west1?

• Free forever (e2-micro is always-free tier)
• Israeli IP from Tel Aviv data center — oref.org.il won't block it
• Low latency to oref.org.il (same country)
• Docker works out of the box on Debian

Configuration Examples

FastAPI Service .env File

# Required for FastAPI SSE endpoints
API_KEY=poha-test-key-2024-secure

# Optional - Enable geo-restriction
GEOIP_DB_PATH=/path/to/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "API key is missing" - Ensure X-API-Key header is set for both client and webhook endpoints
2. MCP connection fails - Check:
   • Python path in MCP config (use full venv path if needed: /path/to/venv/bin/python)
   • API_KEY environment variable is set correctly
   • FastAPI service is running on localhost:8000
   • Restart your MCP client (Cursor, Claude Desktop, etc.)
   • Alternative: Use the provided start_mcp.sh script as the command
3. Connection timeouts - Check your internet connection and firewall settings
4. Geo-restriction errors - Verify GeoLite2-Country.mmdb path and file permissions
5. SSE authentication fails - Verify API key matches between FastAPI service and MCP config
6. City filtering not working -
   • Use Hebrew city names (e.g., "תל אביב" not "Tel Aviv")
   • Check exact city names in alert history first: cities=["all"]
   • Try broader names for fuzzy matching: "תל אביב" instead of "תל אביב - מרכז העיר"
7. ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'fuzzywuzzy' -
   • Rebuild Docker containers: docker-compose build --no-cache
   • Install dependencies: pip install fuzzywuzzy python-Levenshtein

Logs

Both services provide detailed logging. Check logs for:

• API polling status
• SSE client connections and authentication
• MCP server webhook connection status
• Error messages
• Security events

License

This project accesses public emergency alert data from the Israeli government. The service is designed for legitimate emergency preparedness and news reporting purposes.