In Southern Israel, Families Still Live in Fear of Hamas Rockets

by Sheera Frenkel
UK Times
January 6, 2009

http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/617/in-southern-israel-families-still-live-in-fear

For nine days Avraham Tiger has not left the Emergency Medical Centre in Sderot, southern Israel, where he is chief paramedic.

"There has been an unending barrage of rockets. We live by the warning sirens and hope that no one is injured." A long-time resident of Nahal Oz, a small community straddling the Gaza-Israel border, Mr Tiger has grown accustomed to the missile barrages fired by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

In the nine years since Gazans first developed missile-launching capabilities, Mr Tiger's home has been hit twice. A single father of four children, he has now sent his family to live farther north, out of the range of rocket fire.

"My children are scattered among family members. They don't understand why this is happening. They are scared, they cry all the time and can't sleep.

"I tell them there are good people and bad people in Gaza. The Palestinians are mostly good but the bad ones are doing horrible things. We cannot watch our children live under this threat. Two years ago I collected one friend in a body bag. Another friend was struck in the neck by shrapnel from a rocket and died in my arms." There are no children left in Nahal Oz, he said, and those with the means to move their families have sought refuge from the 40-60 rockets that fall daily on Israel's southern communities.

Mr Tiger tries to comfort his children by explaining to them that Israeli forces are operating in Gaza to try to quell the rocket fire. He said that he believed in the Israeli Defence Force's mission, and as a paramedic he had treated Palestinians alongside Israelis.

"Two days ago we treated a young Palestinian boy that was brought out of Gaza. We suddenly came under fire from rockets as we were treating him but we acted as though he was one of our children. We are medics, we don't want to see anyone die."

Four Israelis have been killed by rockets and dozens wounded since Israel began its offensive in Gaza ten days ago. More than 550 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, many of them civilians.

"We don't want to see people die but life can't continue like this. I just want to see them come to an agreement to end this, to see each other as humans. It hurts me to see the innocent dying. We need to stop this, establish peace and let each others' children live."

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