The Israelis are treating Palestinians in their hospitals. They are even treating Palestinians harmed by the very rockets they are attempting to ground:
Twelve Palestinians have been evacuated to Israel for medical treatment since Operation “Cast Lead” began last Saturday in the Gaza Strip, as the hospitals in Gaza strain to accommodate the hundreds of wounded. For one Gaza boy, being treated in an Israeli hospital should increase his chances of making a full recovery.
About a week and a half ago, before the operation began, 9-year-old Sari Alsamana from Beit Hanoun was playing with his cousin outside his house in the northern Gaza town when a Qassam rocket fired by Gaza militants landed nearby, followed minutes later by an additional rocket strike in the same spot.
The title of this post is a quote from the father of the boy, who is staying with his son in Israel while he receives treatment.
Israelis are coming to terms with the increasing sophistication of weaponry available to the extremist genocidal groups ranged against them. This is not just about Sderot. This is not about homemade rockets. This is about the security of the citizens of a democratic nation state.
At least one-tenth of the country’s 7 million citizens and some of its largest cities are now in range of Gaza missiles, and millions more live within reach of Hezbollah rockets from Lebanon.
Israelis who never thought they would be living under rocket fire prepared bomb shelters. Newspapers and TV stations displayed color-coded maps informing Israelis that they had 15, 30 or 45 seconds to reach cover after a warning siren goes off. In Ashdod malls, directions to the nearest shelters were posted.
Four Israelis have died in rocket fire since the strikes began. Gaza officials say 390 people there have been killed in airstrikes including 200 members of Hamas security forces.
Israel is now being hit by more sophisticated weapons that Hamas has smuggled into Gaza through underground tunnels along the border with Egypt.
Militants once relied on crude homemade rockets that could fly just 12 miles to terrorize Israeli communities near the border with Gaza. Now they are firing more accurate weapons manufactured in China and Iran that have dramatically expanded their range, Israeli defense officials say.
A stable state for Palestine is urgently required if this threat is to be undermined. If the Israelis can reduce the influence of Hamas in Gaza, and thereby allow alternative governance to develop as a result of this conflict, then short-term losses may prevent greater losses (on both sides) in the future.
