IDF spokesman: Saturday night, July 14, 2018
-200 mortars and rockets fired
-4 Israeli civilians injured
-173 red alerts sirens
-30 iron dome interceptions
And how was your Shabbat?
After a very nice Shabbat evening, at 1:30 a.m., we were woken up by the red alert siren beeping and showing a missiles was fired at a southern kibbutz.
Southern parents had to wake their sleeping children to go to their bomb shelter. Communities in Otef Aza have between 7 and 15 seconds to seek safety, depending on how far they are from Gaza. Can you move that fast?
Take the test. Decide on a ‘safe’ room in your house. Using a stopwatch set it for 15 seconds. Have your cell phone alarm ring. Go! Stop what you are doing. Close the stove and oven if you are cooking. Gather your children and pets and get to your ‘safe’ room before 15 seconds. Pretty hard, right! Now imagine this scenario 5, 10, 20 times during the day.
And so instead of children playing outside on Shabbat, they were stuck in their bomb shelters.
A missile exploded in a playground in Sderot. Just image the tragedy if children were playing in the park? A house was hit and a family was injured from shrapnel .
For many hours, Hamas fired missiles up to 7 kms into Israel. We live in Ma’agalim, 9 kms from the border. As Shabbat was coming to an end, Hamas fired a grad missile towards Netivot. Our siren rang, our community was in the pathway.
Our dog Patches, who has very sharp hearing, heard the missile before the siren and was at the door. We went to our safe area, and 5 seconds later heard 2 booms. The floor vibrated. The iron dome had intercepted the missile over our yishuv and we could see the puff of smoke in the sky across the street from us.
The IDF was out all day responding. We heard booming from tanks and jets. They did damage. The IDF spokesman said Hamas was hit harder than ever before. Forty-plus major hits, including destroying the training headquarters of Hamas and two tunnel from Gaza into Israel.
With all the rockets flying and the IDF responding, somehow Hamas managed to start 15 molotov fires and burn more Israeli land.
Hamas was hurting and called for a ceasefire. International countries stuck their nose where it didn’t belong and urged Israel to agree. Shamefully, we did.
One hour later, Hamas fired two more missiles. We responded.
As of now there is a ceasefire. We say it includes rockets and molotov kites and balloons and all methods of fire-making. Hamas says it doesn’t include the fires. Only time will tell how we respond.
It is not for citizens to tell the IDF how to do their job. All we can say is FINISH THE JOB for once and for all.
As I type this blog, it is quiet except for the hum of the drone.
