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Israelis near Gaza bemoan constant state of warfare and stress

Israeli residents of the communities surrounding Gaza are calling on the government to end their perpetuatal state of suffering.

By Jack Gold, World Israel News 

Israeli residents living in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip suffered another anxiety-filled night following the severe fighting between IDF Special Forces and Hamas terrorists inside the Gaza Strip.

Gaza-based terrorists fired 17 rockets at communities in the Eshkol region, repeatedly setting off sirens throughout the night. The constant exposure to danger and uncertainty is taking its toll.

Sharon Calderon, who lives in Kibbutz Sufa near Gaza, told Israel Hayom about the “inability to plan your day like everyone else because a flare-up can occur any moment.”

Discsussing the precarioius security situation, she recounted how her family had been enjoying a quiet evening outdoors on Sunday, and “then we started to hear explosions and planes and shooting and then the rocket fire and the sirens and the panic attacks.”

“Just as they [the government] have discounted us in the past 17 years, they disregarded us last night,” she charged.

In the past couple of week, residents of the Gaza periphery demonstrated in Tel Aviv and, for the third time, blocked the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Sunday. High schoolers went on a five-day march, departing from Sderot, and arrived in Jerusalem on Thursday, where they held a demonstration in front of the Knesset.

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“Our boys walked to Jerusalem in order to convey their desire to grow up peacefully, and then an evening like yesterday occurred, and that’s all but quiet,” Calderon stated.

“Another sleepless night, the kids are losing school again, I’m supposed to be at work this morning. I’m supposed to leave the kid alone at home? So it’s another day of vacation to take.”

Calderon, whose son joins the IDF in two weeks, called on Israelis to join their protest and demand “enough!”

She concluded by saying that they were now waiting “like ducks in a shooting range” to see what Hamas will do next.

Guy Teitelbaum, another resident of the Gaza area, called on the government to resign, saying that if they had handled the situation in “the right way, we would not be in this situation. The feeling is that the Israeli government has abandoned us.”

Rachel Avnit, a resident of Sderot, shared with Israel Hayom her fears.

“We were just wondering whether to go to Jerusalem tomorrow with the children to protest in front of the Knesset, and we are talking about it in all of our protest groups. The children sleep in the security room all year round.”

They experienced “feelings of stress and worry because no one really knows what happened” relating to Sunday night’s incident.

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“It’s clear that sooner or later something will happen, and we do not understand what we are waiting for,” she said, adding that they will refuse to continue to “get instructions and carry them out like mice without any sense.”

MK Haim Yellin, a resident of the Gaza area, former head of the Eshkol Regional Council and a member of the opposition, accused the government of losing control and allowing Hamas to lead.

“This night, when war sounds are heard here in the Gaza vicinity, I support and rely on the IDF forces to carry out their mission for the security of the residents of the Gaza vicinity and the state of Israel,” Yellin said.