UPDATE (7:15 am Tuesday): A ceasefire was agreed to last night between Israel and the terrorists. After the ceasefire went into effect: at 2:34 terrorist missiles hit the Eshkol Regional Council; at 3:36 Ashkelon had incoming rocket alert sirens; at 6:12, more rocket sirens were heard in the western Negev; at 7:11–4 minutes ago, another rocket hit the western Negev. Does this mean that we are back to ‘relative calm’ in the South? 3 or 4 rockets a night? Hooray! if so, the IDF has achieved its goal! Absolutely pathetic.
UPDATE (11:30 pm Monday): It is reported now that Israel and the Palestinian terrorists have reached a new “ceasefire” agreement as of this moment. The IDF now reporting that 22 terrorists and 3 civilians have been killed–the civilians because they were being used as human shields. IDF spokesman blasted Hamas for its “cynical exploitation” of civilians.
Talk about cynical exploitation of civilians—the next sentence out of the IDF spokesman’s mouth was in answer to the question of when the terrorist rockets will reach the Tel Aviv area. The IDF spokesman replied: “If we boost our offensive activity in Gaza, I suppose they won’t keep their Fajr missiles as museum exhibits.”
So, dear citizens of Tel Aviv, plead with the IDF not to attack Gaza wth full force–because otherwise you may have to spend a few days in your bomb shelters like the rest of us in the South who live in ours. Heaven forbid.
By the way, three more rockets were fired at southern Israel since the last update bringing to 280, the number of missiles that have been fired at Israeli men, women, and children since Friday evening.
UPDATE (10:00 pm Monday): Five terrorist missiles and 2 mortars strike southern Israel in the last hour–the last missile five minutes ago. The IDF is reporting that the Iron Dome success rate is decreasing (as was reported here yesterday); it has now dropped to 85%.
UPDATE (9:00 pm Monday): Two hours, eight rockets since the last update. Ashdod, Ashkelon, Sderot, Ashkelon Chof region–most recently 14 minutes ago. 272 terrorist rockets have now been fired against southern Israel since Friday evening.
UPDATE (7:00 pm Monday): In the last hour, at least three rockets have struck in the Eshkol Regional Council region. There are now reports that Fatah (in other words the PLO, in other words the Palestinian Authority) is firing rockets out of Gaza at southern Israel. Additional reports suggest that the groups in Gaza are increasing rocket fire in order to exact more favorable ceasefire terms from Israel. The IDF has just issued an absurd statement describing the rocket fire as a “dramatic development in terms of the quantity and rate of the fire.” Where was the IDF in August and October of last year?
UPDATE (6:00 pm Monday):
The onslaught continues and intensifies. 41 more Hamas rockets have struck southern Israel with increasing “success” since the last israelstreet update. Your humble servant is not at liberty to report all locations and all injuries today–not even most Israelis know the extent of what has happened; suffice it to say that to do so would give the terrorists important security information about where to aim. 261 missiles have now hit the citizens of southern Israel since Friday evening at 6:48.
What can be said is that many of the strikes have been in Beersheva, Ashkelon, Gan Yavne, Gadera, and my home city of Ashdod. There are hundreds of cases of shock and physical injuries. The Iron Dome system has knocked down some 25 rockets today alone, but many have gotten through.
One of the most miraculous cases occurred in Ashdod this afternoon. A woman driving her car down the street in downtown Ashdod heard the incoming rockets siren, jumped out of her car and ran for cover; seconds later a Grad rocket destroyed her car and badly damaged nearby buildings.
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The woman's car in Ashdod today.
The irony of this event was that several years ago, the secretary in our children’s school, Irit Shetreet, was killed following exactly the same procedure. She was in her car, jumped out and ran for cover when she heard the sirens, and the Grad rocket hit precisely the spot where she had taken cover.
WHAT IS INCOMPREHENSIBLE IS HOW LOW THE IDF HAS FALLEN.
WHAT IS INCOMPREHENSIBLE IS HOW THE IDF IS NOT EVEN CONSIDERING GOING INTO GAZA TO ROOT OUT THE TERRORISTS.
WHAT IS INCOMPREHENSIBLE IS THE WILLINGNESS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL TO USE THE CITIZENS OF SOUTHERN ISRAEL AS MISSILE FODDER.
What will it take for Israel to defend itself?
There is no self-respecting country in the world that would tolerate this assault on its citizens. Can you imagine that your country would tolerate over 250 missiles fired at your country’s citizens? in three days?
One wonders how Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, and Benny Gantz get up in the morning and look at themselves in the mirror. Under their leadership, Israel has become but a weak shadow of its former self–suddenly dependent on the Egyptians, the United Nations, Hillary Clinton, and everyone else to stop the rocket fire. Israel has become a place where leaders bluster and threaten, and do nothing.
No amount of bombing “weapons storage facilities”, “open spaces”, tunnels, or terrorist launching cells will make this problem go away.
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.