Sderot is a poor town in the south of Israel near the Gaza border. It has been the target of thousands of Qassam rockets from Hamas over the last seven years. Those who could afford to move away have. Those who can’t must be strong.

n our first visit, we were in disbelief at the number of bomb shelters. On some blocks we could see three within running distance. On our second visit, we put them to use. It’s an almost daily occurence. The Red Dawn sirens sounded off as we were walking through a playground. We had 15 seconds. Mothers swooped up their children and ran for the shelters in hysteria. From inside we could hear blasts followed by mortar fire. When the sirens faded out, the children returned to playing. I asked a mother if she runs like that every time the sirens sound. “Yes, every time.”

As horrific as it is, this is only one side of the story. We’ve yet to get access into Gaza to see just why people feel the need to launch these rockets. Maybe next week.