Situation

I have been thinking long and hard about posting something on my blog, especially in view of the current situation.  Normally I'm not lost for words but I suppose in this case, for everyone living abroad you have seen the news.  The tensions between Israel and Hamas has erupted and it all started with the disappearance of 3 Israeli teens in the West Bank and the search for them, which sadly led to the discovery of their bodies nearly 3 weeks later only served to raise tensions.

What has followed has been the sad killing of three Israeli teens led to the death of Palestinian teenager, which 3 Israelis were arrested and confessed that it was for revenge and from there things have escalated on a level I've not seen since I've lived here in Israel.  I was here in November 2012 when there were rockets flying over, but this time it seems a lot more serious than then.  So from the odd rocket in the south in Ashkelon and Ashdod, Hamas have started an almost steady stream of rockets into the South, including Beersheva, Sderot.  And rockets aimed at Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Rehovot as well.  Its seems there is very few places that Hamas cannot reach with their rockets.

Fortunately there is the Iron Dome protecting the civilians of Israel from the rockets.  The Iron Dome is an all weather defence system, which intercepts the rockets before they can land.  So I'm very grateful for its invention for it being here because with the amount of sirens going off and it wasn't here things could be so much worse.

Since last week there have been sirens in Tel Aviv where I live pretty much every day and the normal procedure for the siren is to go to the Safe Room in your apartment if you have one or to the Shelter if you have one or into the stairwell.  Where I live now we have a shelter on the floor below so when the sirens have gone it is a case of grabs keys and move quickly to the shelter until after the siren has ended and the boom is heard.  At least by going into the shelter, its one good way to get to know your neighbours LOL.  Still it’s quite a frightening situation to be in, but so far I think I've managed to remain calm for the most part, though having been on a bus and in the middle of the street for two sirens I've managed to keep my wits about me to find a place of safety along with other.  Even though it’s been a crisis I've found some humour in hearing stories of friends or other people having to head for the shelter in just a towel or sleepwear, if it weren't a so serious situation and these were just normal day’s hearing that would be hysterically funny.

I want to say I'm not scared and people who have seen my posts on Facebook and Twitter, probably assume I am not, but I am scared because as I said above this feels different than last time and I don't see it ending quickly, especially since a ceasefire which was accepted by Israel, led to more rockets from Hamas who refused it.  All I know is I want to live my life as normal as possible, sadly I'm sure Hamas don't want that.

I've also been following media coverage from abroad and I'm very disappointed if not surprised that it all seems to point the finger at Israel, reading comments from people after news articles, they are decidedly anti-Israel and I've found myself leaving the page and not replying so I don't say/write something I regret.  I wish I could say something to make people change their view or open their eyes to the full situation, but sadly I can't.  I want to say there can be peace in the Middle East, today though it seems even further away than before.  To my friends here in Israel stay safe and stay in touch and to my friends abroad, keeping reading.