The Israeli start-up Reporty has launched a mobile app allowing users to make live video distress calls to emergency responders from their smartphones. Photo: screenshot from reporty.com.

JNS.org – A new application that allows Israelis to make live video distress calls to emergency responders from their smartphones has been developed by a start-up called Reporty, which is chaired by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

The application, launched nationwide on Wednesday, allows emergency operators to view a scene live on video, chat with callers via text messages and determine the locations of those in distress both indoors and outdoors. The app is expected to be particularly useful in the midst of an ongoing series of stabbing and car ramming attacks by Palestinians against Israelis in recent months.

Barak, who also invested $1 million into Reporty, said he joined the initiative recognizing “that it is an important application with an excellent team.”

“From my personal experience I have seen that this is essential,” Barak said Wednesday at the launch of the app, reported Israel Hayom.

“At a time when the reality is so challenging, when terrorism and violence do not spare any country in the world, and at the same time people feel a growing need to be connected all the time, there is room for a comprehensive solution that will allow people to feel safe and connected. Reporty’s platform allows organizations and authorities to mobilize quickly and respond to terror attacks in real time, while minimizing the misuse of time and resources,” Barak said.