Every day 5 to 10 Missiles are fired from Gaza into Israel. This daily attack has been on going for over 10 years. But this last weekend over 160 Missiles have been fired into Israel with 8 wounded.
Now the MSM and the Moonbat left will exclaim: "But they only hurt 8 and most don't do any damage." But I ask them: What would you do if Southern Israel was Southern Texas? Would you not demand the US government to stop the attacks? Would you side with those who fire the rockets into civilian areas and only civilian areas? The MSM and the Moonbat left side with those who fire the rockets and call for the death of the civilians under attack.
The condemning of Israel and Israelis by these groups is nothing less than modern day anti-Semitism. It is permissible to call for the death of all Jews and not be shunned. In fact the left will put you on a pedestal instead.'
And yet, the people of Southern Israel have suffered for years under daily attacks from Gaza.
When Israel gave up Gaza in 2005 they were PROMISED that there would be peace. From that day till now the rockets and missiles have fallen. Yet Obama is demanding that Israel give up Jerusalem. How long do you think that rockets and missiles will fall from there?
Pray for the Nation and people of Israel. Please help the people of Israel. If you can a few dollars to The American Friends of the Magen David Adom (Israeli Red Star of David) will help all the people in the Southern Israel. Just click here.
In a study by Natal, a trauma center for the victims of war and terror, it was discovered that 70% of the kids residing in the town that has been on the receiving end of thousands of rockets in recent years are suffering from at least one symptom of posttraumatic stress. A third of all Sderot's residents suffer from anxiety, and have trouble functioning normally.
Among children this comes in the form of PTSD and Depression.
Shaked and Maor Harush, 11-year-old twins from Sderot, saw a Qassam rocket explode a few feet away for them, setting a car ablaze. Since then, fear has become an everyday presence in their lives.
Shaked suffers from the worst of the trauma. She refuses to leave home without her parents. A slamming door makes her jump. Any conversation about the security situation is out of the question when Shaked is around, and her family knows to avoid words like Qassam and Color Red altogether.
Shaked's young cousin, who lives in the center of the country, was not aware of this little detail. While the two were playing in the yard recently, he yelled out "Color Red, Color Red," sending Shaked running into the house. She locked herself in her room and could not stop crying.
"Her cousin didn't think of it, he didn't know, but Shaked took it hard," her father said. "She is in bad shape. She suffers from anxiety all the time."
Shaked is not alone.
Qassam damage in Sderot in April (Photo: Ze'ev Trachtman)
Maor Harush is doing better than his sister; he speaks about his anxieties. Shaked never does. She has been in therapy for three years, but it hasn't helped – the situation only seems to be getting worse.
"We can't laugh about the situation, we can't talk about it," the twins' father said. "Most of the time she's at home, watching television. The television is her connection to the outside world."
She doesn't visit her friends, her father said, and her school work has slipped; she suffers from attention disorders.
According to the Natal report, 50% of Sderot's kids relive the trauma, and 41% suffer from over-excitation – they are constantly alert, ready for danger, and every little noise shakes them up. Twenty percent of the kids suffer from all the symptoms of posttraumatic stress, and 12% have severe trouble functioning.
"They stop playing, stop being interested in their surroundings, detach themselves from their friends and school," explained Professor Marc Gelkopf, who heads the Natal research team. "One of our newest and most interesting findings is that there is a connection between the symptoms that the parents experience and the ones their children experience. It underlines the importance of family therapy."
Rocket destroys house in Sderot, 2006 (Photo: Amir Cohen)
The study, which followed 518 adult and 570 kids, showed that one in three residents suffers from the disorder, and that one in seven is having trouble functioning due to anxiety.
"When we're talking about people suffering from posttraumatic stress, we're talking about people who wake up in the middle of the night because of nightmares," Gelkopf said. "People who are over alert… who are afraid to go far from their fortified rooms or visit places that remind them of the danger."
Despite the recent calm, Natal has found that nearly 30% of the residents feel threatened. Another 23% take anti-depression or anxiety drugs, or use sleeping pills.
Esther Itiel, 56, has been living in Sderot for 30 years. She is another victim of posttraumatic stress.
"Life in this town was beautiful before the Qassam fire started," she said. "Since then, there hasn't been one night when we could sleep normally. All aspects of life have been disrupted.
"I managed to survive somehow for years, but when a Qassam fell a few meters near my house, I broke down," she said. "I took my daughters and moved to Givat Shmuel, leaving my husband and three other kids behind in Sderot."
In the central town of Givat Shmuel, Itiel received therapy from Natal and the municipality, and graudally managed to regain some of her former self. She agreed to return to Sderot after a shelter was built in her house. Back at home, anxiety hit again.
Qassam hits building in Sderot, 2010 (Photo: Ze'ev Trachtman)
"Any noise from an ambulance, bus or plane makes me jump and triggers the anxiety," she said. "I can't listen to the news, this whole story about the fly-in made me anxious. I'm not happy, I don't laugh, I don't joke. I'm not the mother I used to be."
These days, Itiel rarely leaves home. Sleep evades her. She showers only when there is someone else at home with her – and even then, she does it quickly.
"I'm afraid that it will be like it was during the Qassam fire period," she said. "Then, when the Color Red alarm went off while I was in the shower, I would run to the shelter without clothes on. About a month ago, the alarm went off again. I heard planes flying by and I fainted. They had to take me to the hospital."
Some 6,400 people who are suffering from posttraumatic stress are treated at the municipal mental health center in Sderot. Some 3,500 kids and 500 teachers and staff members get psychological treatment through the town's school system. The Resilience Center, which provides counseling, treats 400 people each year, most of them children and teenagers – and the waiting list for treatment is growing.
"Especially during times of calm, people start feeling the tumult on the inside," said Hila Barzilay, who runs the Resilience Center. "(…) We get kids with serious motor function disorders, kids who weren't allowed to play outside in groups for years. Many residents' relationships have suffered. The situation causes critical damage to all aspects of their lives.
What the Main Lame Stream Media is calling a successful ceasefire is in reality just a lull in the terror. There isn't a week that the rockets attack Israel or an attempt is made to fire into Israel. Yet the media outside of Israel is silent on this. In fact they are reporting that the EU, US, Russia and the UN will IMPOSE a solution upon Israel., A solution that will try to force Israel back to the 1967 borders, the borders Abba Eban called: The Auschwitz Borders.
Abba Eban
"We have openly said that the map will never again be the same as on June 4, 1967. For us, this is a matter of security and of principles. The June map is for us equivalent to insecurity and danger. I do not exaggerate when I say that it has for us something of a memory of Auschwitz. We shudder when we think of what would have awaited us in the circumstances of June, 1967, if we had been defeated; with Syrians on the mountain and we in the valley, with the Jordanian army in sight of the sea, with the Egyptians who hold our throat in their hands in Gaza. This is a situation which will never be repeated in history."
- Abba Eban, Israeli Statesman, in Der Spiegel, November 5, 1969
Borders that are impossible to defend the nation. With the deliberate separation into 2 halves of Jerusalem, the Arabs will gain everything they want without giving up any of Israel's demands.
The children of Sderot have only the people of Israel to help them. But that can change. Will you help them? Just a few dollars will give a child the psychiatric help he or she needs. The Sderot Media Center helps hundreds of the residents of Sderot and the Western Negev each day. From their newly opened "Ella Center" that helps the children with their studies in the sciences to the only indoor playground, the first concern of the Sderot Media is the safety of the children of Sderot. Their mission statement tells it all:
The Sderot Media Center mission is to provide Israeli and international news media with on-site film footage and reporting of the kassam rocket attacks and their psychological effects upon Sderot residents. In doing so, we hope to spur international and local involvement with the community of Sderot, both on a financial and social scale, in order to help out the residents of this war-zone region.
Other goals include the following four points:
To forge identification and empathy between the western world and the residents of the western Negev
To initiate community projects that will alleviate the economic and psychological condition of Sderot and western Negev residents
To improve the security situation of Sderot and the western Negev through international awareness of the rocket fire
To create a balance in the news coverage of Israel and promote a pro-Israel attitude in the western and international media
Last night, Wednesday the 23rd of March, was the first time since Operation Cast Lead that an Iranian Grad missile exploded in Be'er Sheba, 40km from Gaza.
Arriving at the scene of the rocket strike Thursday morning, in the Northern neighborhoods of Be'er Sheba, brought me back to the terror scenes in Sderot of the past few years. For several years, rocket attacks were part of my daily routine living and working at the Sderot Media Center. When the Tzeva Adom (Code Red) sounded, I would go to the neighborhoods where the rocket exploded and film the scene. The next day, I would return, documenting the 'the day after, listening to the stories of residents on what occurred to them the day before.
Video: Noam Bedein, Sderot Media Center
In Be'er Sheba, I saw the same scenes I'd witnessed in Sderot: shattered car windshields; the shrapnel holes making "windows" on the homes; the radius of damage from where the missile exploded; the 'cover up' of the missile hole; like nothing happened and expecting the people to go back to normal; the holes in the iron doors; the Shabbat candles standing among shattered glasses; pictures of Rabbis hanging untouched on what remained of the walls; frightened and excited residents of the damaged or destroyed homes who just want to share their personal experience with the world; hearing story, counting the amount of times I heard the words; Luck, coincidence, and miracles.
Photo: Noam Bedein, Sderot Media Center
Be'er Sheba resident Chen Saban, a Sapir College student in her early twenties whose house was hit, described how she and her family were lucky enough to reach the secured room on time, saying she never expected her home to be hit. She said it was ironic because she goes to Sapir College, which is only a few km away from Gaza. Chen, who is supposed to get married in the next 3 weeks, is no longer certain about her future in Be'er Sheba and how she ill be able to plan her life living there.
Photo: Noam Bedein, Sderot Media Center
It was amazing to hear all this because it took me 45 minutes to drive from Sderot to Be'er Sheba, which is 40km from Gaza, with residents having 60 seconds to run for the shelter once the siren goes off. And still the same reaction and comments of the frightened and traumatized people.
Today, the more than 1 million Israelis who live in the range of 40km from Gaza are not feeling as secure as they did yesterday, asking themselves "who is next?"
Yitchak Akli a resident of the Be'er Sheba neighborhood said: "We should learn from
Photo: Noam Bedein, Sderot Media Center
the experience of 'cast lead'' that this would happen, they have (missiles) and hiding them, to launch and fire them at the right time, on any target in Be'er Sheba. It's a matter of time. They've learned our capabilities and they've learned us".
Since the last "cease fire" 530 rockets and missiles have been fired towards the South Western, past of Israel.
The Iranian Grad missile exploding in Bair-Sheba is a reminder how that a few months ago the Shin-Bet reported that there's a stack of over 5,000 Iranian missiles in Gaza, all of them having a range of 40 KM.
This is especially troubling because, in November 2009, Hamas test-fired a missile test towards the Mediterranean, reaching 60 KM, which is the distance from Northern Gaza to Tel-Aviv.
In November 2010, the ITIC reported that Hamas has missiles with an 80km range.
Almost everyone in the Western Negev knows not it's not "if'" but "when"' the next missile escalation starts, leading to the next Gaza war.
After living in Sderot for the past 5 years, watching the construction of 5,000 new bomb shelters, you don’t have to be a prophet to understand that the highest authorities in Israel know there has not been a permanent end to the rocket fire. Being realistic, Israel has to be prepared for many more years of conflict on the Gaza border.
Photo: Noam Bedein, Sderot Media Center
While Iran is certainly a threat for Israel, the biggest delegitimization threat for Israel, is with no doubt Gaza. Add to this the uprisings in Egypt and North Africa, bringing to power groups that have already declared they will end the "peace treaty" with Israel.
The harsh response that Israel received from the world media and many governments during and after Cast Lead, after the Flotilla incident, and right up to today is actually a modern-day version of a very old demonization of Jews and Israel. A tremendous effort is being made to delegitimize Israel, with the goal of eliminating the Jewish state. How Israel will deal with this threat?
"In all of the previous wars, starting from the 1956 Suez Operation, through the Six Day War and in the Yom Kippur War as well, the IDF took the fight into enemy territory," Chen recalled. "The security concept was that of fighting the war we choose, and seizing the initiative. But since 1982, after that rally in Rabin Square, Rabin and Peres decided, for political reasons, that the strategy needs to be changed and that we should only go to war when there is no choice - i.e., when the sword is on our neck."
Chen said that since that decision was made, Israel has lost its deterrent capability. "Our enemies understood the dramatic change in Israel's security concept as a position of weakness. In any case, they had ceased threatening us with regular armies and turned instead to the weapon of terror. They murdered hundreds of Jews inside Israel, but controlled the bloodletting so as to enable Israel's leaders to maintain the concept that one does not go to war as long as there is a choice."
"Every Israeli citizen knows that the Israel of today is not the Israel of pre-1982."
Chen said that artillery fire on Gaza is not a proper response to the missile attack on Be'er Sheva. "We are a nation that wants to live, and there is no point in fair play when it comes to terrorists. That is not how terror is defeated. The State of Israel is a sovereign state that needs to formulate a proper strategy. Unfortunately, the strategy today is that if you are fired upon you fire back. We are, in effect, signaling to the enemies that they can continue using the same method in the future, too."
There is great anger in Sderot, a city with more bomb shelters than playgrounds.
Like everyone else on the planet, I have heard about the "complicated" situation in the Middle East my whole life: promises to fix it, hopeful negotiations that crumble behind closed doors, rockets, wars, treaties, stalemates, etc. Round and round it goes until, exasperated, I figure both sides are unwilling to reach the type of tough-but-straightforward agreements that brought peace to Ireland and South Africa, and I give up. "It's complicated" is a Facebook status, not a diplomatic agreement.
I spent the last two weeks in Israel. The trip was free, as it is to any Jew, through a program called "Taglit Birthright." To any students who come from a Jewish background, I suggest checking it out. It is a free trip to Israel, if nothing else.
Last Wednesday I visited Sderot, a town of about 20,000 people in the western Negev desert, less than a mile away from the Gaza strip.
Sderot has been the target of more than 10,000 rockets fired from Gaza since 2000. Gaza is controlled by the militant Islamic group Hamas. Sderot is the only town in the 21st Century where rockets are being continually fired at a civilian population.
To deal with the rocket attacks, the town has a siren that gives residents a 15-second warning to get into a bomb shelter.
Stop for a moment and consider how far you could get in 15 seconds. Could you get to the nearest bathroom? The nearest car? The nearest stairway?
Sderot is the bomb shelter capitol of the world. Every house has a bomb shelter. Apartment buildings have bomb shelters crawling up their sides. Every bus stop is a bomb shelter and others are spaced in between; there is a bomb shelter about 15 seconds away from most places.
If you are a child in Sderot, you should hope you are in school when the rockets come. Older schools have been retrofitted with huge steel shields on their outer walls and roofs. Newer schools are literally giant bomb shelters, their paltry playgrounds nothing but dust and three safe cubes awaiting the siren's call.
Other parts of town have the type of playgrounds we grew up on: ladder up, slide down, monkey bars and the wall with a clear bubble that never made sense. They have painted a castle a nice shade of purple, and made two long concrete snakes look so vibrant and fun, you could almost forget they, too, are bomb shelters. Between 70 to 95 percent of children in Sderot have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, according to Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper.
So why are people still living in this god-forsaken place? There are a few reasons. For one, housing is much cheaper there (feel free to guess why). For another, Sderot has one of the most lively and productive music scenes in the Eastern Hemisphere. The town is home to more chart-topping bands than any other in Israel and rivals any in Europe.
But the real reason people stay is because they feel they must. Sderot is internationally recognized as part of Israel. If they leave, if they give up, what happens to the next town? And the next? Rockets from Gaza can hit Israel's economic and cultural centers - Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, respectively.
I saw all this from Israel's side of the border, so I cannot speak with objective moral authority on who is right or wrong, victim or oppressor. I know everyone I talked to in Israel wants peace more than anything, and would give up land if they thought it would achieve it. I also know that people suffer in Gaza and struggle for a homeland in the West Bank.
As a commentator, I am supposed to speak in shoulds and should nots.
No one should have to live like the people of Sderot. That's all I've got.
It's complicated.
Dave Balson is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or DENopinions@gmail.com
I always allow the people of Sderot to speak for themselves. This is their story, their struggle, their battle. What is happening in Sderot, Beer-Sheva, Ashkelon, the Negev, is the price for living in Israel. For Sderot's residents it is the price of living on the frontier. If they surrender their city, it will only encourage Hamas to conquer the next city, then the one after it. Until they have conquered the whole nation.
You are not on the frontier, the front line in this battle, but you can help. The small donation that you give to the Sderot Media Center goes to help the people, especially the children of Sderot. Just a bit of your spare change will help. To donate click here.
For the last week rockets fired from Gaza have been a daily occurrence. Although they have caused limited damage to property and no one has been hurt or killed. (Frayed nerves and a couple of neurotic cats.) It is only a matter of time before someone is killed.
A Grad rocket fired by Gaza terrorists hit an open area near a residential neighborhood in Ashkelon on Friday morning. No physical injuries were reported, although several people suffered shock and required medical attention. A vehicle was also damaged.
Ashkelon had experienced relative quiet following the Cast Lead counterterror operation in Gaza in early 2009.
The attack follows an attack last week that was carried out using an imported rocket more sophisticated than the short-range “Kassam” rockets produced in Gaza. In that case, the rocket failed to explode, and no injuries were reported.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has followed a policy of quick response to attacks from Gaza. Air Force planes have demolished smuggling tunnels and weapons factories in the region following previous rocket attacks.
Sderot is the only town and the Western Negav is the only region in the world, where missiles are fired towards civilian population in the 21st Century.--Sderot Media Center
If you are planning a visit to Israel, plan a side visit to Sderot. You can contact the Sderot Media Center for a tour.
The joy of the Purim Holiday means that even the threat of rockets fired daily from Gaza is not sacred. In fact, Purim becomes more joyous in their face.
Take this story of Purim fun from Sderot.
Purim is a favorite holiday among Jewish children, teenagers and even adults. It is a holiday where we dress up in costumes, eat sweets and make merry. We do all this to remember the salvation that the Jews of Iran experienced thousands of years ago, when they were saved from a nation-wide death sentence.
Since then, every Jewish home celebrates this holiday by giving gifts to the poor, reading the Book of Esther which tells the story of Purim and holding a celebratory feast with family and guests to commemorate the miracle.
The girls of the Sderot Media theater group, "Youth of the Kassam Way" celebrated Purim in their respective Sderot high schools on Sunday. SMC staff paid a special visit to the schools to join in the celebrations. The girls, who were all very excited for the holiday, were dressed up in sparkling and ravishing costumes. Many of the girls were dressed up as fairytale characters. Cinderella, Hansel & Gretel, queens and fairies were seen walking around. Some also dressed up as different animals such as bees or butterflies, and of course there were many clowns. The teachers also dressed up, adding to the festivities and excitement. We will not forget to mention the feast we had with the girls, with the tables full of different delicious foods.
Sadly, as usual, the everyday routine of the people of Sderot began with a morning barrage of rockets. In the course of the weekend, five Qassam rockets struck the Western Negev area, and two rockets fell in the Ashkelon region. Today four rockets were fired at the Eshkol region. There were no injuries or damage.
Purim is a holiday characterized by a monumental miracle--an entire nation survived a harsh death sentence designed to obliterate every last man, woman and child. According to the Book of Esther, Haman, a royal vizier to King Ahasuerus set a decree to kill all the Jews in the Persian kingdom. His plans were foiled by Esther, the Jewish Queen and wife to the Persian King Ahasuerus. We remember this miracle with much gratitude.
So too, here in Sderot, we hope for the end of the rockets, so that we can return to normal life and celebrate the Festival of Purim in happiness, joy, and peace.
I pray that the people of Sderot can celebrate the next Purim in peace and joy. I pray that next Purim the only worries that any child of Sderot will have is what costume to wear. I pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and the other holy places.
I know you, my reader have prayed this prayer too. I know many of you have signed up for the Code Red Alerts, if you haven't you can sign up here. And like always I ask that if you can spare the extra cash to donate to the Sderot Media Center. Just click on the grogger at the bottom of the post and follow the instructions from there. They do great work in Sderot for the people of Sderot.
Imagine you are in church and a rocket hits the building. Or just sitting in your home. That is what happened to Beber Vaaknin and 5 other individuals when rockets from Gaza landed in their neighborhood in Netivot.
Beber Vaaknin murdered by a Hamas rocket.
Terror groups fire at Israeli communities: 58-year-old Beber Vaaknin was killed and five other Israelis sustained light to serious wounds after rockets hit a synagogue in Eshkol Regional Council as well as an apartment building in Netivot, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said.
The direct hit on the synagogue seriously wounded a man who had been inside, and rescue services had to drag him from the rubble. Another man was lightly injured in the attack. Another rocket fired from Gaza landed on a power line, causing a power failure in three Israeli towns.
Hamas' armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in Netivot.
A short while after the IDF launched its major aerial strike in Gaza, the Red Color anti-rocket alarm went off at southern Israeli communities, as terrorists started firing rockets at Israel. The IDF Home Front Command is urging residents to remain in secured rooms and bomb shelters.
The Palestinian bombardment started around 1 pm, when a rocket hit the Netivot area. A short while later, the rocket alarm was heard in Ashkelon, as two rockets hit the southern city. No injuries or damage were reported in the strike.
In the most recent barrage at least 10 rockets were fired toward Netivot. One of the rockets hit a private home, while the second landed on an apartment building in the city, resulting in the death of 58-year-old Beber Vaaknin. Three other people were evacuated to nearby hospitals with light to serious wounds. Another rocket landed near the local market.
At least 20 rockets have been fired toward Israel since Saturday morning.
Netivot was founded in 1956 as a development town along with Sderot to the north, and Ofakim to the south. Netivot attracts a number of mainly Sephardi Jewish pilgrims, who come to pray at the tomb of a Moroccan-born tzaddik and kabbalist Baba Sali (died 1984) who is buried there.
It is a lovely town. Filled with happy families, and quiet neighborhoods. A town of tree lined streets. Now marred by Hamas.
Another family mourns. And yet the world has done nothing to stop these attacks. But they condemn Israel for attacking back. Just wait. The pictures of the dead children will come next, then the protests in Europe and the US. Then the UN will try and force Israel to stop. Already the Dhimmis are crying out.
This time the answer to the UN, to the Dhimmis, to the world is and must be a resounding: NO!
I woke up this morning to a wonderful Chanukah gift. The IAF attacking Gaza. I know I shouldn't be ecstatic, that I shouldn't be joyful at the death of my fellow human, but I feel like dancing and singing this day.
It is only fitting that at this time of the year when Jews all over the world are celebrating the Maccabees's victory over the Greeks (a war in which military expert would have said they couldn't win) that the murderers of Gaza start feeling the flames of war themselves.
This just didn't happen overnight. It has been 8 years in the making. 8 years of Sderot and the Western Negev being attacked on a daily basis. 8 years of death and destruction. Yet Hamas is screaming that they are being attacked without cause.
Over 80 rockets and mortar shells struck areas throughout the western Negev. In Netivot, 58-year-old Beber Vaknin was killed, one person was seriously wounded, and four others sustained light to moderate injuries when their house was hit by a rocket.
All the wounded were evacuated to Soroka hospital in Beersheva.
Later, a rocket hit a house in the community of Mivtahim, seriously wounding one person and lightly wounding another. A Magen David Adom team treated the wounded at the scene.
In Ashkelon, at least 10 rocket strikes were reported, with one hitting an apartment building.
For the first time ever, a Kassam rocket struck Kiryat Gat. The "Color Red" warning siren also sounded in Ashdod, although the location of a rocket strike had yet to be reported.
Beber Vaknin had a right to live in his nation in peace and safety. His only crime was being a citizen of Israel and a Jew. To Hamas that is the greatest crime in the world.
While Hamas indiscriminately attacks civilian targets while calling everywhere in Israel a military target. The IAF is selecting true military targets and wiping them out.
The wide-scale offensive on Hamas installations in the Gaza Strip was codenamed 'Operation Cast Lead,' after a Hanukkah poem by H.N. Bialik referring to a "dreidel cast from solid lead."
At least 200 people were reported killed - the majority of them Hamas operatives - and nearly 400 wounded in the attacks. It was not clear if the aerial offensive would be coupled with a ground offensive. Asked if Hamas political leaders might be targeted next, military spokeswoman Maj. Avital Leibovich said, "Any Hamas target is a target."
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a press conference that the IAF had succeeded in eliminating senior Hamas commanders during the offensive. According to witnesses, among the dead was Hamas police chief Maj.-Gen. Tawfik Jaber.
Despite the massive casualties, Hamas remained defiant, vowing revenge and calling on all other Palestinian factions to join in the fight.
"Today we are stronger then we've ever been," one spokesperson for the group said at a press conference. "We won't raise the white flag, we won't give anything up, we won't retreat."
Minutes after the first wave of air strikes hit areas in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinians reported a second wave which targeted installations in the center and the north of the Strip. Channel 2 reported that 60 planes were involved in the attack, and nearly 100 targets were hit. Military officials said more than 100 tons of bombs were dropped on Gaza by mid-afternoon. Full Story
If Hamas thinks this is a limited operation like other times, they are in for a rude awakening. For the IDF is amassing on the border, just itching to go.
The IDF was beefing up forces around the Gaza Strip on Saturday evening in preparation of a possible ground operation following a massive air assault earlier in the day.
Defense officials estimated that Hamas was capable of firing 150-200 rockets a day, adding that the operation could last for weeks.
Israel's goals, officials added, was to end Hamas rocket fire, end smuggling of arms into Gaza and severely disrupt any Hamas military activity.
In a press conference held earlier in Tel Aviv, Barak said the IDF would deepen and widen its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip as much as needed.
"There is a time for cease-fires and a time to fight, and now is the time to fight," Barak said. "For months the IDF and security forces have been preparing for the operation that began today."
Barak stated that Israel had not intended to allow Hamas to continue to fire rockets into Israel without responding.
The defense minister warned that tough times lay ahead. "I don't want to deceive anyone," he said. "It won't be easy and won't be quick. We must be resolute." Rocket attacks were expected to continue and to increase during the operation, he added.
"For weeks Hamas and its satellite groups have rained [Israel] with rockets…and mortar shells. We did not intend to let this situation continue," he said.
Happy Chanukah Sderot! You and your children are getting the best Chanukah gift possible. And maybe this time the IDF will be able to stop those horrible rockets once and for all.
Palestinian rocket explosions marked by the wail of the Tzeva Adom siren alert sounded throughout the day in Sderot and the western Negev. Beginning on Tuesday night, 60 Palestinian rockets have slammed Sderot, the western Negev, and Ashkelon.
One Grad-Katyusha hit outside a home in Ashkelon, sending several people into shock, while destroying a storage shed and shattering the windows of the Ashkelon home. Another Grad-Katyusha slammed into an Ashkelon factory, causing extensive damage. In all, seven Grad-Katyusha rockets hit Ashkelon today.
Photo: Roy Edan
Barzilai Medical Center reported that of the 24 people hospitalized for shock on Wednesday, 12 were children.
In the Sdot Negev Regional Council, a Palestinian rocket directly hit a home, causing extensive damage as well. No one was wounded in the attack. During the early morning, a barrage of Palestinian rockets were fired at Netivot, with one landing in the industrial zone of the city and several more in the agricultural fields outside the city. Another Palestinian rocket landed outside a Netivot Youth Center. Two Netivot residents were treated for trauma.
Among the rockets fired from the Gaza Strip in the morning, one Palestinian rocket failed to clear the border and landed in the Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, lightly wounding two Palestinian civilians. Several Qassams were fired at Sderot with one falling 50 meters outside Sderot Media Center in an industrial center, shattering the windows of several offices in the area and sending a number of people into shock. Sderot Media Center staff were in the office at the time the office at the time the rocket hit. "We heard the shriek of the Qassam zooming over and the office literally shook from the impact of the rocket explosion," said Itzik Yarkoni.
Photo: Roy Edan
On Tuesday, five Qassam rockets were fired at Sderot and the western Negev. One Palestinian rocket landed 30 meters away from the Sderot home that was directly hit by a Qassam rocket this past Sunday.
In all, 37 Palestinian rockets, and 23 mortar shells were fired at Israel in the past 24hours. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the morning rocket terror.
What a lovely Chanukah gift Hamas is giving the people of Israel. Over 50 rockets shattering lives in Sderot and Ashkelon. It has only been a small miracle that no body has been seriously hurt or killed yet. But it will happen.
You can give the people of the area a better Christmas/Chanukah gift. By clicking on the logo at the top or bottom of this post, you can give a donation to the Sderot Media Center. A little bit goes a long way.
I ask all to remember these men, women and children in your prayers. Remind others of the risks and horror that they live with each and every day.
Sderot residents in fortified room (Photo: Amir Cohen)
Imagine that you live under a situation in which every day there is a rocket attack from your neighbors. You don't know where it is going to strike, you don't know if your home, your family will suffer this time. Imagine that this has been going on for 8 years and the authorities would do nothing to stop these attacks. This is what the citizens of Sderot and the Western Negev have lived with for 8 years now. Even when there was a so-called "truce", the rockets fell. And yet the world only condemns Israel for attacking back.
Four Qassam rockets were fired from northern Gaza Saturday evening towards the city of Sderot in south Israel. There were no reports of injuries or damage. One of the rockets landed in the courtyard of a local factory, but caused no damage to the site. Another rocket landed near a kibbutz in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council, while the third landed near the security fence separating Israel from the Hamas-controlled territory. The landing site of the fourth Qassam has yet to be located.
The attack on Sderot took place at around 19:30 pm; loud explosions were heard in the city.
The al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad's armed wing, claimed responsibility for the barrage, saying it was launched in retaliation for Israel's "continued aggression" and "crimes of the occupation."
At 9:30 pm another Qassam rocket fired from Gaza landed in an open area in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
At least 15 Qassams and 26 mortars were fired toward the western Negev region throughout the day.
In the afternoon a barrage of mortar shells and one rocket fell in a kibbutz located within the Shaar HaNegev Regional Council's limits.
Now imagine a former US President siding with your attackers, advising them and telling the Media that it is all your fault that you are being attacked by your neighbor.
Former United States President Jimmy Carter reported that he advised Syrian-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal on what price to demand from Israel for the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who was abducted more than two years ago. He said that Hamas is "relatively satisfied with the status quo."
Carter's visit to Lebanon and Syria earlier this month follows a trip to to Damascus several months ago in the face of American policy against establishing direct contact with the outlawed terrorist organization.
Carter wrote on his website that he spoke with Mashaal about "formulas for prisoner exchange to obtain the release of Corporal Shalit," who has since been promoted to sergeant.
However, he probably is not aware of the promotion because the International Red Cross has not succeeded in convincing Hamas to honor the Geneva Convention and allow its officials to visit him. The Red Cross also has rejected Israeli citizen's demands that it stop visiting terrorists in Israeli jails until Shalit is seen and confirmed to be alive and in good health. Full Story
I see that a nursing home hasn't been found for Grandpa Carter yet.
In order to put forward your side of the conflict you hold a news conference, but the media does not attend, calling you an aggressor and murderer.
A day before the Hamas-Israel ceasefire officially ended, Sderot Media Center facilitated a press conference with a panel of Sderot officials who provided brief updates of the security situation and the impact of the ceasefire on the area residents to Israeli and international press. Member of Knesset and Kadima party member, Shai Chermesh, who is a resident of Kfar Aza, a western Negev community under daily mortar shelling, participated in the panel. He stated that the ceasefire had yielded no positive results for Israel. "Gilad Schalit is still in Gaza and Sderot and western Negev residents are still under rocket fire. This is a reality that our government must deal with and as of now, the government of Israel has shown that it has little authority over what is happening to Sderot and the western Negev," MK Chermesh concluded.
"Hamas is the occupying power of Gaza and has treated its constituents terribly," he added. "Hamas must stop using their own Palestinian civilians as sacrificial offerings by employing rocket terror tactics against innocent Israelis." Chermesh stated that he believed that disengaging from Gaza in 2005 was a positive move. "It was important that we left and it was too bad that we didn't leave earlier," he stated. "If the IDF re-enters Gaza, the attack must be planned carefully. The people of Gaza should not go hungry and we must limit civilian causalities as much as possible."
Batya Katar, representing the Parents Association for the security of Sderot, stated that Sderot residents feel that Sderot is a separate entity. "We don't have the right leaders to deal with the reality of the region," she said. "If this was happening in Tel Aviv, there would be a completely different reaction from the government."
"Only yesterday evening, a Palestinian rocket landed right outside a busy supermarket. People outside at the time barely escaped the rocket explosion," Katar added. "Thanks to the Tzeva Adom, they were able to make it inside, but the attack could have been deadly. How many more rocket attacks must Sderot experience, how many near-death experiences must Sderot residents endure--before the government of Israel acts?"
The president of Sderot's Small Businesses Association, Danny Dahan told the press that the rocket fire was economically crippling the region. Dahan, who owns Dahan's supermarket in Sderot, explained that the changed shopping patterns of his customers--"they rush in and rush out" has contributed to the decrease in sales. "People no longer linger around, taking their time to buy food. Everyone wants to go home as quickly as possible." Dahan also stated that due to the rocket fire, there were problems with shipments of goods coming into Sderot. "Some of our suppliers refuse to enter Sderot because of the rocket fire. Many times, I end up going to the junction in Ashkelon to pick up the goods for my supermarket."
Noam Bedein, Sderot Media Center director, highlighted that the over 2,500 Palestinian rockets fired at Sderot and the western Negev have caused a marked increase in psychological trauma among Sderot children. "Between 70-94% of Sderot children are suffering from signs of PTSD, according to a recent NATAL survey" Bedein stated.
Bedein also related that between 300-400 Palestinian rockets have been fired at Israel since the ceasefire began in June. Yehuda Ben Maman, the Sderot security officer, added that although many bomb shelters have emerged throughout Sderot in the recent year, most of the structures provide protection from rocket shrapnel only and not from direct Qassam rocket hits.
But for the people of Sderot and the Western Negev, the IDF might be giving them a Chanukah present.
Military source: IDF prepared to 'conquer Gaza Strip' if need be
Military sources said the IDF was preparing for a wide-range of scenarios, pending government instructions.
"We have operational plans ranging from conquering the Gaza Strip to pinpoint raids against rocket squads," one officer said. "However, we will ultimately do what we are told to do."
You can give the children of Sderot a wonderful Christmas/Chanukah gift too. A small donation to the Sderot Media Center will give a child the gift of hope and love. It pays for the small parties given to the children of Sderot, the psychological counseling that many of the citizens need, and the legal help the people of the region need to deal with the government bureaucracy. It is easy to do. Just click on the Sderot Media Logo at the top or bottom of this post and follow the directions from there.
In a unique show of solidarity, a delegation of 70 Italians, including 24 members of the Italian Parliament visited Sderot this past Monday, December 8. The Italian delegation brought with them a copy of a letter, written by members of the Italian Parliament, addressed to Gilad Schalit, the IDF solider captured two years ago who remains in the hands of Hamas in Gaza.
Photo: Hamutal Ben Shitrit
In a press conference facilitated by Sderot Media Center, the Italian delegation, which included members from various Italian political parties, presented the letter to a representative of the Schalit family, Medi Cohen. Rossana Boldi, President of the Committee on European Affairs, and acting as representative of the group, stated that the letter had been signed by many important members of the Italian Parliament in the hopes of getting the International Red Cross in Rome to hand the letter to Gilad Schalit.
Boldi cited during the press conference that the International Red Cross had not paid one visit to Gilad Schalit since his capture, and continues to ignore the plight of Sderot residents living under Palestinian rocket fire.
"Israel has a right to exist in security," said Boldi, "and Gilad Schlit has every right to return home."
Medi Cohen, speaking on behalf of the Schalit family, responded by stating that a week previously she and other Gilad Schalit supporters protested in front of the Shikma Prison in Ashkelon, which houses Hamas terrorists. "You could see Palestinian mothers freely entering the prison to visit their imprisoned sons. These Hamas terrorists are treated fairly and according to international law--they receive free medical treatment and proper care from Israeli authorities," said Cohen. "Gilad on the other hand, has been denied everything. Hamas prevents any form of communication with Gilad from the outside word. Gilad has not been allowed to even speak with his family for two years," said Cohen bitterly.
David Bouskilla, Sderot's recently elected mayor was also present at the press conference and warmly welcomed the Italian delegation to Sderot. "The city of Sderot has strong ties with the Italian community," Bouskilla stated. When Bouskilla was mayor of Sderot eight years ago, he oversaw the building of the only rocket-protected theater in the entire Negev which was funded partly by the Italian Keren Hayesod.
Photo: Hamutal Ben Shitrit
Mayor Bouskilla also added that Sderot residents have been standing alone in the face of continuing Palestinian rockets. "Our children and families are forced to sit and accept this situation, as rockets continue to hit our homes, properties, playgrounds and schools," said Bouskilla. "It is more important than ever to have the support of the international community, especially from a country like Italy" he told the Italian delegation.
Indeed, it was both encouraging and inspiring to see the concern exhibited by the Italian government officials for Sderot civilians in light of the 200 or more Qassam rockets that have been fired against Sderot and the Negev since early November. During the brief stop at the Sderot police station, where hundreds of Qassam rockets are stored away, the Italian delegation expressed their shock at the way life in Sderot has dramatically altered due to the terror generated by Palestinian rocket fire. "It is disturbing to think how Israeli children must live in this kind of reality," said one Italian official.
In the scheme of world affairs, Sderot children at least have a few friends back in the Italian Parliament.
From Monkey in the Middle:
It is nice to see that the Children of Sderot have a few friends in the world since they have none in the Olmert government. No matter how they plea and cry, Olmert will not even try to stop the rocket attacks that have been occurring daily for the past 8 years.
But you can help. Write your Representatives in Congress demanding that the US do something to force the end to these attacks. Write your Senator. And you can give a small donation to the Sderot Media Center. You can give a child of Sderot a little Christmas/Hanukkah gift. It would be a nice gesture in support.
More than 126 Qassam and 71 mortar rockets were fired at Sderot and the Negev from northern Gaza since November 4 according to the Intelligence and Terrorism and Information Center.
November 4-5, 2008: Over 60 Palestinian Qassam rockets were fired on Sderot and the western Negev. Hamas renewed Qassam rocket fire against Israeli civilians living in the Negev throughout Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, in light of. The rockets damaged several green houses in the western Negev. Two rockets landed in Ashkelon, one which hit a quiet neighborhood, and sent three people into shock and trauma. The massive rocket attack came about when IDF Special Forces entered Gaza to blow up a tunnel dug by Hamas terrorists that was created in order to abduct Israeli soldiers.
November 7, 2008: Southern Israelis woke up to another day of rocket attacks Friday as Palestinian terrorists fired five Kassams at western Negev neighborhoods. The rockets landed in the Sderot, Eshkol and Sha'ar Hanegev regions. No one was wounded and no damage was reported. One of the Kassams landed near a kibbutz reservoir, while a second hit the fence surrounding another western Negev kibbutz. The other rockets hit open areas. The Islamic Jihad's armed wing claimed responsibility for the attacks. (Jerusalem Post)
November 14, 2008: A Qassam rocket launched from the northern Gaza Strip hit an electric pole near a house in Sderot on Friday, injuring an 80-year-old woman with shrapnel and seven people suffered from shock from the attack.
Four more rockets hit the Ashkelon area later Friday. One landed inside the city, another fell just outside, and two more landed in nearby open fields shortly after an alarm was sounded. Defense establishment officials said at least two of the rockets were Grad missiles. Three people suffered from shock. All victims were evacuated to Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon. A total of 14 rockets were fired on the Western Negev on Friday. (YNET News)
November 20, 2008: The port city of Ashdod, 24 km north of the Gaza border, was this week connected to the rocket alert system already in use in Ashkelon and Sderot. It is an acknowledgement that threats by Palestinian militants to bring it within range are being taken seriously. (Jewish Chronicle)
November 27, 2008: Gaza terrorists continued their attacks on southern Israel Thursday evening, firing a Kassam rocket that hit a home in the Eshkol region, damaging the structure wounding no one. Earlier Thursday, two rockets landed in open areas in the western Negev. The exact impact sites of the other two rockets could not initially be ascertained due to heavy fog in the area, however there were no reports of wounded or further damage.
November 29, 2008: Eight Israel Defense Forces soldiers were wounded Friday evening, two seriously, after mortars fired by Gaza Strip militants hit a military base near Kibbutz Nahal Oz in the western Negev. The soldiers were evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva and to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon. Six soldiers were still hospitalized Saturday morning. Doctors had to amputate the leg of one of the soldiers who was brought to the hospital in serious condition. (Haaretz.com)
From Monkey in the Middle:
Just imagine you are sitting down to your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and a rocket lands in your home, or your neighbors, or your child's school. Imagine the stress and trauma that the people of the Western Negev have lived with these 8 years. No nation on Earth would put up with it for this long, and yet Israel has to. Why? Because the world would condemn them if they truly struck back.
This holiday season please give a small donation to the Sderot Media Center. Help make a traumatized child's Hanukkah a little more joyful.
It has been said by many that only Jews can make light of a tragedy. That when things are bad they turn to comedy. And so it is in Israel with the situation in the Western Negev. And only Yaakov Kirschen can do it best.
While for the last few days the world has been riveted to the news coming out of Mumbai, the Western Negev has been under rocket fire from Gaza. While rocket fire isn't as a glamorous news story as terrorist attacks, they are just another form of violence from the Religion of Peace.
Eight IDF soldiers were injured Friday when a barrage of mortar shells was fired from Gaza towards an army base near the southern town of Nahal Oz.
Two of the soldiers were seriously wounded, and one of them suffered a head injury. The other six were lightly to moderately injured. All eight were evacuated to hospitals in Ashkelon and Beersheba.
Two of the mortars landed inside the base. One fell on the officers' quarters and another fell on the female soldiers' quarters. According to international reports, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Two others landed in nearby open spaces, in Shaar Ha Negev Regional Council. Another two landed in the vicinity of Netiv Haasara, but no injuries or damage were reported.
The security coordinator in Nahal Oz, Benny Sela, told Ynet that the barrage could be heard throughout the area. "I immediately ordered the kibbutz members to take cover in their shelters," he said.
"We searched for fallen shells, but luckily for us they didn't fall in the kibbutz but rather in the nearby base. The army told us to stay near the bomb shelters."
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the mortar fire came in response to an earlier clash between IDF soldiers and gunmen attempting to plant an explosive device near the border fence.
"We have said from the beginning that any Israeli breach will be met with a response, and this was a response," Barhoum said.
The Israelis wouldn't be closing the border crossing and firing into Gaza if Hamas would just stop the rocket attacks. It is that simple. But Hamas won't stop. It will continue to attack Israel then cry to the world that the Israelis are firing back. And the world believes Hamas. For PalArabs are to be treated as if they are an oppressed people. Yet they are causing damage to Israel, both physically and mentally.
In a recent study conducted by NATAL (Israel Trauma Center for Victims of Terror and War), researchers discovered that close to 56% of Sderot residents have suffered in some way from Palestinian rocket attacks. According to report, presented by Natal Community Staff Director, Dr. Roni Berger in Beersheva on November 24, nearly half of Sderot's population has been either physically or emotionally damaged by Palestinian rocket fire.
Over 4, 000 Sderot residents are suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic-stress disorder (PTSD) while one third of Sderot children, ages 13 to 18, have trauma-related learning disorders.
PTSD is a severe and ongoing reaction to a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm to the person, according to the National Institute for Mental Health. People who develop PTSD may have witnessed a loved one who was harmed in a traumatic event or were victims themselves.
Symptoms of PTSD usually begin three months after the ordeal but can also emerge years afterward. Some people can recover within 6 months while others have symptoms that last for much longer. For some people, the condition becomes chronic.
"The initial symptoms of shock include an accelerated heart rate, dry mouth, limbs 'falling asleep,' a sense of fainting, or seeming paralyzed or emotionally detached," says Gabi Schreiber chief of psychiatry at Ashkelon's Barzilia hospital.
Dr. Adrianne Katz, head of the Sderot Mental Health Center says that the shock impacts the victim's ability to function for months after the experiencing a Palestinian rocket explosion. "Many rocket terror victims suffer from depression, sleepless nights, severe anxiety, and have trouble going back to a regular routine," she says.
The NATAL study showed that almost 50% of Sderot residents know someone who has been killed in a Palestinian rocket attack, while 65% personally know someone wounded in an attack. Over 90% of Sderot residents have experienced a Palestinian Qassam explosion at some point-whether it be in a neighborhood, home, school, business or other residential setting.
Dr. Mina Zemach and the Dahaf Polling Institute conducted the research in order to compare Sderot to other communities outside of Palestinian missile range. Sderot residents made up the test group, while residents of Ofakim, a town of similar socio-economic makeup to Sderot but not under rocket attack, served as the control group.
Photo by Noam Bedein
The study revealed that three times as many Sderot residents had gone to a spiritual counselor (such as a rabbi), and a family doctor than did Ofakim residents.
Dr. Roni Berger explained that there were several reasons why Sderot residents suffered from higher degrees of trauma than residents other Israeli communities within rocket range. "The fortifications in Sderot are poorer, and the population is weaker as well. The social unity is smaller. It's a population who felt, and still feels, abandoned."
In addition, 45% of the Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip target Sderot according to IDF intelligence.
Although adults in Sderot showed significantly higher levels of trauma and stress in the study than adults living in other Gaza vicinity communities, children of Gaza vicinity communities did not fair so differently from Sderot children. Close to 75% of children living in Gaza vicinity communities, ages 12-14 suffer from symptoms of PTSD compared to 86.6% of Sderot children.
"Only a minority of those suffering from PTSD actually seek help," Dr. Roni Berger told Sderot Media Center. NATAL, a non-government organization seeks to reach out those Sderot residents who otherwise would receive help. "NATAL's staff has been going door to door for the past two years in our mobile units, visiting Sderot families and offering them social support," says Dr. Berger. "We teach these families how to cope with the stress and panic that result with each rocket attack."
"In a way, this is much more effective then simply providing residents with a psychological diagnosis," adds Dr. Berger. "NATAL health professionals give Sderot residents the skills to relax. One of the most important things is for the residents to learn to talk about their experiences [with rocket attacks]."
"Unfortunately those residents who don't know how to cope, become worse," says Dr. Berger. "Those who do cope 'well' are also not immune to trauma symptoms-they also pay some sort of psychological price for living under Palestinian rockets and it may manifest itself in strained family relationships or tension at work."
The constant downplay of the psychological impact of Palestinian rocket fire in the international and Israeli media has unfortunately shifted important focus from the reality on the ground--Sderot residents after eight years of Qassam fire are gradually becoming psychologically crippled by the constant trauma of Palestinan rocket attacks. One of the most ironic phenomenas is that the concept, post trauma is not even relevant to Sderot residents. The constant renewal of rocket attacks has not allowed Sderot children and families to recover from past Qassam barrages. This constant state panic and stress that plagues Sderot residents is a continuing ordeal that remains theirs alone.
Again I ask my reader to donate to the Sderot Media Center. The funds go directly to those effected by the daily attacks by Hamas.
