Netivot, Israel – An Israeli man was killed in the southern town of Netivot on Saturday by a rocket fired by terrorists inside the Gaza Strip.
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Bebert Vaknin, 58, was killed and four others wounded – including two seriously – when two Grad missiles scored direct hits on houses in the town of Netivot.
In the Kiryat Gat area an 80-year-old man was lightly wounded on his way to synagogue when he was hit by shrapnel from a Grad missile landing nearby. Power outages in the area were reported after another missile hit the power grid.
Be’er Sheva braced for the possibility of being targeted for the first time by Palestinian militants armed with rockets with an improved range. Mayor Rubik Danilovitch oversaw the opening of an emergency operations room and the preparation of the city’s bomb shelters.
The IDF’s Home Front Command responded to the escalation by ordering civilians living near Gaza to stay within protected areas, banning public gatherings and cancelling school in the area within striking distance of the Strip.
Residents of Netivot, which until now been largely left outside the cycle of violence, were united in their support of Israel’s offensive. “We have the faith that the IDF will carry out its job,” a resident said.
“We have no problem being in bomb shelters for days. They won’t scare us or make us tremble. Eventually we shall win.”
In the coastal city of Ashkelon, Hannukah celebrations were cancelled.
Sapir College, which was struck by a Qassam rocket earlier this year, killing one of its students, cancelled lectures yesterday. Some of its students gathered at a hill overlooking Gaza to watch the smoke billowing from the territory in the wake of the offensive.
“It’s about time we give a beating instead of taking one,” one student said. “There’s no way that for eight years we won’t be able to sleep. It’s about time that Palestinians feel what we feel.”
At Kfar Aza, another settlement often targeted by Palestinian militants, local resident Nurit Hamides decided to take an early morning walk yesterday despite the tension. Because of fear that Palestinians might fire Qassams at Israel, her husband, Arieh, followed her in their car shortly behind. “I told her she had an escort like a prime minister,” Arieh later joked.
During her walk, the Israel Air Force strike suddenly began and huge plumes of smoke rose from the distance in Gaza, sending Hamides running to her husband’s car. “It’s us, we’re bombing Gaza,” Arieh told his wife. “I don’t care – drive us to a bomb shelter,” she responded.
Where was the whole world all these years that Israel was being attacked. The Hamas were davka striking civilians. Now that israel is finally retaliating, and some arab civilians are killed because the terrorists purposely place their terrorist dens amidst civilian population, the world is up in arms. Such hypocrites. May Hashem show them on their own land what we are going thru.
Better late than never. Keep up the good work IDF. Those morons in the Govermnt did not strike 2 yrs ago when all these Kassamim started.
This attack on Gaza is so surprising because I thought the Israelis didn’t know how to do this.
The only one who sported the Israelis is the bush administration, I Mis you.
To our brethren injured: Refuah shlaima
To the Vaknin family: HaMakom necechem eschem bsoch shaar availei Tzion v’Yerushaliyim.
To the Jews of the Darom: Be strong and of good courage
its all OK with the UN when INNOCENT CIVILIANS ARE BEING TARGETED AND KILLED! when the israelis take action and they kill terrorists, that’s when the UN is here to condemn….
just a question. no need to start yelling at me. But dont you think that people living there are putting themself in a mukum sekono?
Hashem should heal all broken hearts. maybe its time to move out of eretz yisroel till moshiach comes