6-Mar-08: Quiet.

BBC World has been running "humanitarian crisis in Gaza" stories all day, echoing the usual chorus of "aid" agencies - Amnesty International, Save the Children, Cafod, Care International, Christian Aid. But far from their gaze, the Palestinian-Arab rockets of Gaza keep being fired into Israel, spreading the desired fear, the desired terror, the desired anger.

Two such rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel this afternoon. A house in the town of Sderot sustained a direct hit. Several people are now being treated for shock. Elisheva Turjeman, whose house it was and whose salon is in the picture above, is described by YNet as finding it difficult to talk after the shattering experience.

"We were at home with the children, there was a very loud explosion, and the entire house was hit," she told Ynet. "We managed to get to the secured room and take shelter. It was a real miracle. I still can't believe we escaped it unharmed."
"We heard a very loud explosion, and I immediately understood that the house was directly hit," one of the residents on the street told Ynet. "Our houses all shook and the windowpanes were damaged. The rocket entered the house's living room through the roof. Several of the family members were at home at that time, and only a miracle prevented their injury. They are extremely frightened. There is an elderly sick lady there. It's simply a miracle that no one was injured."

Never shy to take credit, Islamic Jihad says its terrorists fired the rockets.

Five other rockets have been fired into Israel from northern Gaza so far today (for a total of seven), landing in open areas. Several mortar shells have been fired at communities within the Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel too. There are no reports of injuries or damage so far.

Absurdly, this will be reckoned as a quiet day in the context of this ongoing war.