In yet another Kassam rocket attack on Sderot this morning, an apartment suffered a direct hit - but the family had spent the night in Be'er Sheva, for fear of Kassam rockets.
Sderot, only three kilometers from northern Gaza, has been rocketed by Arab-fired Kassams very intensively over the past few weeks - and the IDF admits that its presence in northern Gaza has not helped. The army took over the area five weeks ago after a Kassam attack killed a 3-year-old boy on his way to nursery, and another man standing nearby.
Six people standing outside the apartment were hurt in today's attack, and were evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon and treated for shock. The police called the owner of the stricken apartment to inform him of what had happened. When he arrived and saw the damage, he was unable to speak - either from the magnitude of the damage, the miracle that had befallen him, or both. His daughter in Be'er Sheva said, "I still cannot believe that just yesterday they came to me because they were afraid of rockets."
Avraham Teitz of Sderot told Arutz-7,
"This was the third time that exactly at 7:15, a Kassam falls on us, and we have entered a pattern of 'Kassam preparedness.' My little son even woke us up this morning and said, 'The big boom is coming soon.' Spirits are low, and fears are great... We started a local demonstration today and blocked off a few roads, and we're establishing a task force to demand of [Prime Minister] Sharon and [Defense Minister] Mofaz to fulfill their elementary obligation of protecting the country's citizens. It's not a political matter; for some reason a form of apathy has set in regarding those on the periphery, whether in Sderot or Gush Katif, and this cannot continue. If rockets would land every day in Tel Aviv, the reaction would probably be very different..."
Another near-miss occurred this past Friday when Itzik Ohayon, whose little son Afik was the child killed last month, visited his son's gravesite. "I live in Be'er Sheva," he told Ynet, "but I come here every Friday to the grave. About 50 meters away, suddenly a Kassam rocket landed, like a grim reminder of that terrible Monday..." Afik's mother lost her leg in the attack and is still hospitalized.
The City of Haifa hosted the children of Sderot this week for a day in the city's prestigious Museum of Science, lunch and a day of fun.
Sderot, only three kilometers from northern Gaza, has been rocketed by Arab-fired Kassams very intensively over the past few weeks - and the IDF admits that its presence in northern Gaza has not helped. The army took over the area five weeks ago after a Kassam attack killed a 3-year-old boy on his way to nursery, and another man standing nearby.
Six people standing outside the apartment were hurt in today's attack, and were evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon and treated for shock. The police called the owner of the stricken apartment to inform him of what had happened. When he arrived and saw the damage, he was unable to speak - either from the magnitude of the damage, the miracle that had befallen him, or both. His daughter in Be'er Sheva said, "I still cannot believe that just yesterday they came to me because they were afraid of rockets."
Avraham Teitz of Sderot told Arutz-7,
"This was the third time that exactly at 7:15, a Kassam falls on us, and we have entered a pattern of 'Kassam preparedness.' My little son even woke us up this morning and said, 'The big boom is coming soon.' Spirits are low, and fears are great... We started a local demonstration today and blocked off a few roads, and we're establishing a task force to demand of [Prime Minister] Sharon and [Defense Minister] Mofaz to fulfill their elementary obligation of protecting the country's citizens. It's not a political matter; for some reason a form of apathy has set in regarding those on the periphery, whether in Sderot or Gush Katif, and this cannot continue. If rockets would land every day in Tel Aviv, the reaction would probably be very different..."
Another near-miss occurred this past Friday when Itzik Ohayon, whose little son Afik was the child killed last month, visited his son's gravesite. "I live in Be'er Sheva," he told Ynet, "but I come here every Friday to the grave. About 50 meters away, suddenly a Kassam rocket landed, like a grim reminder of that terrible Monday..." Afik's mother lost her leg in the attack and is still hospitalized.
The City of Haifa hosted the children of Sderot this week for a day in the city's prestigious Museum of Science, lunch and a day of fun.