Almost entirely unreported in the news media - other than in Israel's online and paper-based news channels - missile attacks continue to bedevil life for thousands of Israelis, day after day.More than six thousand of them in the past six years. Three a day, on average, month after month, year after year.
This morning (Monday), a loud explosion struck fear in the hearts of Israelis living in Ashkelon's southern neighborhoods as a Qassam rocket landed in an open area south of the city. Several additional rockets have been fired at Ashkelon over the past two weeks, as we have reported here. Most of them have landed in the city's southern industrial zone.
Security sources say the firing of rockets into the uncontested, never-occupied, never-Palestinian, entirely-civilian Ashkelon area has become more accurate in recent days. Several rockets have landed near what the media euphemistically term strategic facilities in the city over the past few weeks. One of them caused substantial damage.
Also this morning, a Palestinian rocket landed inside the Sha'ar Hanegev regional council area. Two more rockets were fired around midnight last night (Sunday), one of them crashing into a community near Netivot, another falling near Ashkelon's industrial zone.
Ashkelon residents said that they heard a particularly loud explosion today. YNet quotes one who lives nearby saying that "the explosion was so strong my house trembled. We are used to Qassam rockets, but far from here, in the industrial zone. This is the first time the rocket lands so close. It was terrifying."
A boarding school is located not far from where the rocket landed today, badly frightening the children there.
So... if and when Israeli forces go in to Gaza and put a stop to the lethal Qassam attacks - something the local authorities in the Hamas regime have no interest in doing - will the near-total absence of reporting about Israel absorbing these attacks daily for months influence public opinion in Europe, the United States and elsewhere? You can count on it.
UPDATE 11:00pm Monday: YNet is reporting tonight that some 20 mortar shells fired by the Pal-Arabs from northern Gaza landed in Israel's western Negev this afternoon (Monday). So far no reports of injuries or damage. Nine mortars landed near the Erez crossing, near the Gaza security fence, damaging a number of cars parked in the area. Haaretz estimates the count at five Qassam rockets and 18 mortar shells, and adds that a female soldier suffered shock when a rocket struck the city of Ashkelon, and was taken to Barzilai Medical Center for treatment. Several buildings suffered light damage.
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Unfortunately, even if by some fluke, the media mentions all the rocket attacks that these towns have suffered when reporting the eventual Israeli retaliation, they will no doubt qualify the rocket barrages by saying that they are inaccurate, crude, homemade, and that they haven't killed many people. We will have the same screams of proportionality like we did last summer during the Hezballah war.
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