During this past Friday evening, at about 7:00 pm when many Israelis are gathered at or close to their Sabbath table, the Hof Ashkelon region was once again the victim of lethal rockets fired by terrorists, as yet unidentified, flinging whatever they have (and they possess many thousands of rockets) into whatever they can reach (Israeli communities and thousands of Israeli homes are located mere seconds away as the missile flies).
Times of Israel reports that, prior to crashing into open fields, the incoming rockets triggered the Red Alert siren system, causing warnings to be heard through the region, and giving Israeli families in their homes mere seconds to find shelter. (Wikipedia terms this "an early warning radar system", but the expression "early warning" fits better to a bygone age and a different place. When the rockets are fired from a handful of kilometers away, you have mere seconds. Early it is not.)
Later Friday evening, around 9, a separate rocket was fired into southern Israel, this time striking the Eshkol region and also exploding in open fields.
In both cases, there are neither human losses nor significant property damage. This, it goes without saying, is never the intention of the jihadists. They place themselves, and the people around them, at risk because in their value system the potential pay-off (dead or injured or terrified Israelis) makes it worthwhile.
From a distance, observers aware of the cynical brutality of these entirely random, non-discriminatory attacks whose intent is to kill, maim and destroy can decide for themselves whether (a) to ignore them entirely; (b) become outraged and focus some attention on how the compact, thoroughly-controlled (by the terrorist organization Hamas) enclave can continue to get away with this, day after day, month after month, with virtually zero international attention; (c) cheer.
By far the majority of news channels outside Israel - in fact, almost without exception - adopted their customary stance, falling again into category (a).
When Israeli forces respond to the two attacks by taking out the perpetrators or their infrastructure, their viewers/readers will easily buy the claim that, yet again, the 'brutal' Israelis have launched an 'unprovoked' attack on the residents of the Gaza Strip, once again testing their "resilience and fortitude" and "crushing their spirit". So it goes.
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