Sheep and goats have nowhere to graze. Fox, deer and many small animals that live in the forest have suffocated or been burned to death. It will take years for the land to be rejuvenated.

Since 2001, Palestinian terrorists have fired 15,000-plus rockets and mortars at Israel from the Gaza Strip as part of their plan to drive Israelis out of Israel and have them drown in the sea.

In August 2005, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the IDF to expel 10,000 Jewish citizens from their homes and land in Gush Katif, the thriving Jewish communities of Gaza.

The Sharon government was convinced that if they move the Jewish residents out of Gaza, Hamas would stop firing rockets and become good citizens. He was also out to please the American president and the world.

The government destroyed their homes but left community centers, schools, land to build apartments, greenhouses, all to improve the lives of the Gazan people.

How did Hamas say thank you? By firing thousands of rockets at communities in the South.

And the land for apartments, well, it became terror-training camps. The everyday people received no improvements to their lives.

Being a terrorist is a job and a well-paying job at that. There is a set monthly allowance for injuring and maiming Israelis, and if you kill an Israeli, there is a big bonus. If you are arrested and in prison, your family will receive a monthly allowance. If you are killed, your family will be looked after for life.

Hamas has no respect for life. Young children act as human shields for cowardly terrorists, dig tunnels, have bomb belts strapped to their little bodies and become suicide bombers when the bomb goes off remotely. Nice people, right?

Women are dispensable and are told by their husbands to be terrorists. They hide knives under their clothes and stab Israeli soldiers.

Where is PETA When You Need Them?

Donkeys have had bomb belts attached to their bodies, and when they get near a soldier, they blow up. Where is PETA when you need them?

The newest terror weapons are children’s kites. Hamas terrorists build kites, attach a Molotov firebomb to the tail and let the wind gently float across the Gaza fence. When they fall in Israel, they explodes on southern farmers’ fields.

And when they run out of kites, they use balloons. They fill the balloon with helium – stolen from hospitals – attach a molotov bomb to the string and again let the wind blow it into Israel and explode.

No more kites or balloons, no problem, Hamas is now using condoms as balloons.

According to reports, because of kite terrorism, approximately 400 fires have consumed more than 30,000 hectares of crops, forests and nature reserves. The damage to the farmers and their property is estimated at more than NIS 7 million and growing.

Sheep and goats have nowhere to graze. Fox, deer and many small animals that live in the forest are suffocated or burned to death because they have nowhere to run and hide. It will take years for the land to be rejuvenated.

Families Sleep in Bomb Shelters

On Tuesday, after a day of many fires, at 1:15a.m., when everyone was asleep, Hamas fired 45 rockets at southern communities until 5:30 a.m. Many families slept in their bomb shelters.

One rocket exploded next to a kindergarten. The explosions of rockets broke windows in houses and cars and caused other damage. Thank God there were no physical injuries reported – but emotional injuries, I’m sure there were many.

The IDF answered the rockets with 25 hits in Gaza. We heard booming all night, and the Iron Dome did its job.

As I write this blog, there are fires still burning.

I am posting a video of the burnt land. It is heartbreaking to look at but very necessary in order to understand what Israelis are living with. The video has some Hebrew, but the truth is that no language is necessary. The video speaks for itself. After you view the video, please share it. The title: “Two Months of Fire”

Article by Miriam Goodman

Miriam Goodman made Aliyah from Canada with her family in 1994. She lives in the Negev. She is the mother of three, the safta of 13 precious Sabra grandchildren and a great-grandmother. She is known for her 'Safta Cookies'. Writing is a hobby and she has a blog called Miriam's Words.