Re “Attitude Toward Gaza War Hinges on Where You Live”

[Editor’s Note: As Hamas terrorists continue firing rockets into Israel, sending frightened residents underground, our correspondent resumes her daily update.]

Dateline Jerusalem – At 3 a.m., I heard the drone of jets above me.  I could barely keep my eyes open.  Since the new policy of no Code Red Siren alerts unless rockets will fall in populated areas, the number of alarms is fewer but the number of rockets reaching Israel has not diminished.  As of this moment, 11 siren alerts have been made. That seems a lot considering it covers only a period since midnight. How many siren alerts would there have been under the old policy of including the sounding of sirens in open areas.

At 7 a.m.,  I was rudely awakened to the sound of alerts on a map on my computer. It was notifying me rockets had been launched into populated areas. A good thing that older people allegedly do not need as much sleep. Three to four hours makes me a zombie. You may ask why my computer is on during the night. I want to hear the alerts. Sometimes the rockets sent from Gaza are fired in a pattern. Often I can predict when we are next. My computer alert system is on so I can go to my stairwell.

As of 9 a.m., there had been 29 Code Red Siren alerts since midnight. Thunderous thuds and rattling windows due to rockets in nearby towns are more disruptive than sirens and alarms. This eerie experience reminds me of California earthquakes.  The loud boom, the shaking windows, the feeling that your building is moving, even if it isn't.

Since 1 o’clock, the booms, blasts, thuds and rattling have been non-stop.  There had been 77 Code Red Siren alerts so far, more than we have had on an average day in the past. How many rockets does that translate into since only the populated areas are receiving siren alerts? Speaking of populated areas, some buildings and homes took direct hits. Shrapnel grazed the wall of a shelter. Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon transferred all the premature and newborn babies to protected areas.

By 3 o’clock, 137 rockets had been aimed at Israel, and 103 Code Red Siren Alerts in populated areas.  In 44 days of war, 3700 rockets have been launched at Israel. The most frightening part is that the number of Hamas rockets is estimated at 10,000. 

Fast forward to 9 p.m.  There were 157 Code Red Siren Alerts for populated areas and who knows the number of rockets bombarding Israel today so far.  I think this number surpasses anything we have seen. 

Last night when the sirens blared in my neighborhood, a friend was walking home listening to music with earphones.  She did not hear the siren, but thank G-d there was an older woman out and about at the time. The woman tried to get her attention and explained that there was a siren. Neither of them knew where to seek shelter because there was only a parking lot nearby.  They ran to some thorny bushes between the parking lot and sidewalk. They sat on the ground in the bushes.  They heard the booms and saw flashes of light in the sky.  One woman said when she walked home by outdoor cafes, she could not understand how people could be eating and drinking and laughing and talking while she felt scared.

I do not have a final count of the number of Code Red Siren alerts nor the number of rockets and missiles launched at Israel today.  I think Hamas set records. Tomorrow they are threatening the airport and football stadiums.

L'hitraot.  Shachar