The morning of the second day of Operation Shield and Arrow began quietly around the Gaza Strip. Communities were told to be in their shelters or near them. I drove south from Jerusalem, about an hour and a half drive.
The police and army had closed off some areas around the Gaza Strip, so traffic from Ashkelon could not drive along the border to Sderot. These areas were expected to be under direct threat and the threat extended dozens of kilometers inland.
When I arrived on the border it was quiet. There wasn’t much traffic. However there are still industries operating around the border, so there are many people who have to use the roads. I’ve been in this area many times before during numerous conflicts over the last two decades of conflicts. Most of the landscape is fields and there were a few soldiers who had set up a checkpoint south of Ashkelon near Yad Mordechai and the turnoff to Karmia.
I drove out toward Karmia and Zikim Beach until there were more roadblocks. Here I paused and wondered what would come next. The radio said people could leave their shelters. Israel had carried out strikes against sites in Khan Yunis and Beit Lahia. I could see smoke rising from Beit Lahia.
The rocket fire begins
As I began to drive back towards a hill that overlooks the border area I could see streaks of white smoke rising from Gaza. These are the telltale signs of rockets. Soon Iron Dome was at work overhead, its Tamir interceptor missiles flying toward the rockets.
IDF air defenses are seen intercepting rockets fired from Gaza into Israel, on May 10, 2023 (video credit: Seth J. Frantzman)
This was just the opening salvo of a long series of salvos that poured missiles over our heads. It began at 1:27 and continued at 1:30, 1:35 and every five or ten minutes until 2:30 and then began around 3 in the afternoon when more rockets were fired from Gaza heading toward areas south of Tel Aviv.
The Rockets were intercepted by Iron Dome in dozens of interceptions. Each of these salvos and the interceptors heading toward them could be seen from areas south of Ashkelon. The rocket fire was concentrated here. Smoke filled the skies and slowly drifted away with each round of interceptions. Some rockets fell in open areas nearby and smoke rose from the fields. Inside Gaza loud booms indicated that Israel was responding. The radio continued to say where the sirens were sounding and encouraged people to go to their shelters. In many areas along the roads there are no shelters, so cars had to brave the roads south of Ashkelon with nothing more to do than keep driving.
The number of salvos in broad daylight took place as they have in the past. However, standing under the missiles fired from Gaza and the Iron Dome interceptors was still jarring. There were sirens in the distance, but in some areas, there are no sirens and therefore you can be standing outside and suddenly see small bright lights tailed by smoke rising into the area from Iron Dome interceptors heading to stop the missiles.
As the afternoon continued it appears Islamic Jihad began to use its longer-range rockets, firing them toward areas such as Rishon Lezion and into other areas such as those directed at Netivot. Border areas were spared some of the rockets, as they flew high up in the air, way above the few residents who remained near the border. Nevertheless, for those working in industries near the border, or living in larger towns such as Sderot there was nowhere to go. Most of them are used to the situation. Trucks continued to go back and forth from industrial areas and civilians continued to drive on the most essential roads.
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