Israel's Major Port City Prepares for Rocket Attacks

The Media Line
November 17, 2008

http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/414/israels-major-port-city-prepares-for-rocket

Ashdod, Israel's fifth-largest city, is beginning to prepare for possible rocket attacks from Gaza, as the truce between Hamas and Israel nears its end.

Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i today visited Ashdod, a city of 225,000 citizens, located 30 miles north of the Gaza Strip.

Vilnai met with Ashdod's security officer, Arieh Itah, who showed him the city's preparations against possible rocket attacks.

Over 250 alarm systems have been brought to the city in recent days and will soon be deployed across Ashdod. It is estimated that residents will have 45 seconds to find shelter once a rocket is launched from the northern Gaza Strip toward the city.

In the case of Hamas targeting Ashdod, a number of strategic locations would be endangered, including the city's seaport, oil refineries and power stations.

"This is an outrage, that Israeli citizens are used as cannon fodder," Shosh Firuz, a resident of Ashdod, told The Media Line.

Firuz's four-year-old child, along with many other children in the city, has participated in emergency exercises in the past 12 months, where they learned where to hide in case of an attack.

"We feel safe, but nevertheless the government simply has to take all possible measures in order to stop Hamas from attacking us," Firuz said.

Ashdod joins other Israeli cities and small communities, which are located within the range of Hamas rockets. Among the biggest cities are Ashqelon with 110,000 citizens, and Sderot with 20,000 residents.

In the last eight years thousands of rockets have been fired from Gaza toward Israel's southern region.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip have gone underground in the past few days, fearing Israeli assassinations.

Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, who served as the army's chief of General Staff from 1998–2002, has recently suggested going back to a policy of precise attacks and assassinations of Hamas leaders in Gaza.

"Israel's deterrence vis-à-vis Hamas has been eroding since June 2007 [when Hamas gained control over Gaza]. Israel has to set the agenda, not the terrorist movements," Mofaz said on Sunday during a visit to Ashdod.

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