A visit to hospital

After a week in which no rockets fell on Haifa, 6 rockets fell on Haifa shortly before the main news bulletins on TV at 8 p.m. this evening, destroying 2 houses, killing 3 people and wounding over 100. By cruel irony, the worst damage and casualties were in one of the Arab neighbourhoods of Haifa - Wadi Nis Nas. One of the people I know there is a wonderfully warm-hearted woman called Lubna who runs a kindergarten for the children of underprivileged Arab families. I called her mobile number but there was no answer which was worrying. I called the hotline of one Haifa's hospitals and was told that her name is on the casualties list. I drove to the hospital and found her on a bed in the hospital foyer. Fortunately she has only very light injuries, not caused directly by the rockets but from falling in the street after the explosions and the smoke. For a few minutes after the rocket attack, she was hysterical with fear looking for her two small children who had been playing in the street. A very close call.

An even greater miracle was that Irit's son-in-law came home for a short break this lunchtime from his emergency military service close to the Lebanese border where 12 reserve soldiers were killed today by a Katyusha rocket. Eli was with those same soldiers this morning and even took a picture on his camera-phone of one of those killed. This is the story I referred to in my previous report. It's very scary to know people involved and the bigger picture is hardly any more comforting.