An Israeli child’s view of life near the Gaza border

Adam Levick
CiF Watch
12 January '11

While on a tour of Israeli communities along the Gaza border, I had the opportunity to visit an elementary school on the front line of Hamas’ war of terror. The close distance between the school, located in the Sha’ar Hanegev region of Israel, and the Gaza border left it extremely vulnerable to Hamas rocket attacks after the Iranian backed group came to power in 2006. As such, students at the school have had to cope with red alert sirens and bomb shelters as an everyday part of their childhood.

Once the siren wails the children have about 15 seconds to run to the nearest bomb shelter - the approximate time between the siren and the time an incoming missile would strike. Before Operation Cast Lead, this consisted of a staggering 30 to 50 such “events” per day.

(I've added this Youtube for those who've not experienced first hand their situation. Yosef)


After the war, such incidents are more rare, but still represent a consistent part of their elementary school life. And, as Israelinurse has reported (but all but ignored by the Guardian and most of the MSM), the situation along the Gaza border has been slowly deteriorating. For instance, in April there were 5 rockets (or other live fire) launched from Gaza into southern Israel, while in December that number rose to 51.

(Read full "An Israeli child’s view of life near the Gaza border")

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