Sirens wailed just before the Jewish holiday of Shavuot began on Sunday evening, sending Chen Farag and her family once again running for cover as they have dozens of times over the past week since the latest war between Palestinian militants in Gaza and the Israeli military erupted.
The Farags live in Ashdod, Israel’s largest port on the Mediterranean coast. The city of about 225,000 people is around 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of the Gaza Strip. Six adults, two dogs and a parrot huddled in their home’s reinforced safe room, a routine precaution for hundreds of thousands of Israelis in the country’s south.
After an explosion shook the building, they rushed outside to see cars on fire, including their own. Their home’s front door had been blown off, windows were blasted and shrapnel was embedded in walls.
“We are in shock. It’s a nightmare,” said Farag, a 24-year-old cable technician. “It’s hard to sleep, because we are thinking, what if Gaza tries to hit us again?”
The cycle of fighting and cease-fires has repeated itself numerous times in the past 15 years since the first rockets were fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip. The barrages have caused deep frustration for residents, many weary over what they see as the government’s failure to change to the situation. Many children who have grown up in the area suffer from trauma-related issues.
Since the latest war erupted last week, Palestinian militants have fired more than 3,200 rockets at Israeli cities. Most were intercepted or fell short, in Gaza, but hundreds made it through.
The Farag home is one of 146 buildings in Israel that were hit by rockets fired from Gaza, according to military statistics. They include homes, apartment blocks, schools, kindergartens and an oil storage tank.
When sirens signal incoming rockets, Israelis can seek shelter in communal shelters or in reinforced rooms in their apartments, a feature of newer buildings. Many have been pinned down indoors, fearing they couldn’t reach shelter in time.
So far, 10 people have been killed in Israel, most from rocket fire. This includes a soldier, a 5-year-old boy and two people who died from injuries sustained while running for cover. Paramedics say at least 106 people suffered shrapnel and blast wounds.
Fighting erupted on May 10, when Hamas fired seven rockets at Jerusalem following clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters at a shrine considered holy to both Jews and Muslims. Since then, Palestinian militants have fired heavy barrages at cities deep inside Israel, and the Israeli military has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip.
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