Post 5: 10:00 pm. One hour ago we experienced three explosions south of our location.
But within the last hour there has been a significant escalation of violence with multiple Grad attacks on Beersheva that have resulted in at least one death and multiple critical injuries including children; Sderot and other communities have been pummeled. What is significant is that Hamas is now taking responsibility for firing the Grads. And that Israeli naval vessels are reportedly firing on positions in Gaza and taking return fire.
We’ll see what tonight and tomorrow morning bring.
Post 4: 3:30 pm. Explosions again to the south.
Here is the video shot this morning. Please excuse the quality. Remember the context: my wife, son, and I were asleep. The sirens suddenly went off. We descended three flights of stairs to our bomb shelter. And waited.
What you will hear and see: sirens screeching, darkness at the beginning of the recording as yours truly descended the stairs camera in hand, followed by the scene in the bomb shelter, finally quiet at the end until you hear the explosion that occurred 300 meters away. The end of the video is when my wife whispers “Oh my God”:
Video missile siren/bomb shelter/ explosion link
The video is on youtube at this url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkXQ-qrWzqI (same link as above). Forward it to your friends for them to see what life is like these days in southern Israel.
Post 3: 2:08 pm. Rockets continue to rain in the area around Ashdod–most recently one hour ago in Gan Yavne (2 minutes from Ashdod). Sirens and explosions. Since Post 2, your humble servant has had a chance to check out where the 5:50 Grad hit that was so close to us. Actually it was about 300 meters due east of our position–a direct hit on a house like ours beside a school.
When giving information about strikes, precise information is never given. Hamas combs the media for reports about where their missiles struck so they adjust their aim.
At 5:50 am this morning, I took video of what we were going through when the sirens went off and when we were in the bomb shelter. Hopefully that will be cleaned up and posted later in the day.
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Post 2: 8:18. We just heard a large explosion south of here. No siren. Reports of the 5:50 attack are that south Ashdod (where my location is) was hit by 4 Grad rockets. Ironically, the only people injured were three Palestinians who were taken by MADA (Magen David Adom–Israel’s Red Cross) to Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot.
What, you may ask, are Palestinians doing in Ashdod? Actually, our area out here in the south Ashdod has a disconcertingly large number of Palestinians who are working in construction–they typically live in the houses that they are building.
Here’s a picture already posted on a newspaper website of where one of the Grads struck at 5:50:
Policeman at site of Grad that struck in south Ashdod this Saturday morning at 5:50. (Picture courtesy of Maariv)
Post 1: 5:50 am. We were just jolted out of our beds 10 minutes ago by another incoming rocket siren–except that this one was twice as long as the ones yesterday. After getting to the bomb shelter, we heard three loud explosions–one of which was very close–somewhere within a few blocks. In a few hours, your humble servant will attempt to find out where it was.
It was reported last night that Ashdod was under Iron Dome protection and that one Palestinian terrorist missile had been shot down during the early evening. There was obviously no such protection this morning–and the reporter may have confused Ashdod with Ashkelon. News reports this morning say that Hamas has decided that the so-called ‘cease fire’ is over. Of course, if you check the rocket counter to your right, you will see that there never has been a cease fire.
As of midnight last night, 22 Palestinians missiles had been fired at southern Israel in the last 24 hours. Other tidbits: the U.N. security council refused to condemn the terrorism against Israel yesterday because Hezbollic Lebanon objected! Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Western-loved Palestinian Authority and Israel’s supposed ‘partner for peace’ has also refused to condemn the attacks against Israel.
Posts will appear in this blog today as events warrant.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.