Ashkelon, Israel:
The gutted remains of a huge residential building stand in Israel’s Ashkelon that till Saturday was the home for at least 10 families. But a Hamas rocket on Saturday morning put an end to it. It is not known yet if anyone in the building was dead or injured, or where the families are today.
The apartment building was one of the first to be hit by the Hamas rocket strike, locals told NDTV. Since then, other buildings too have been hit by rockets which the Iton Dome dodged.
The Hindkesharireached Ashkelon — a coastal city just a few kilometres from the Gaza Strip — on Sunday night and experienced first-hand the distress the locals are in.
The check-in at the hotel was interrupted by an air raid siren, during which the team had to abandon their luggage and sprint for shelter in the basement. The rest of the day has been punctuated by similar experiences — the last one at around 9 pm IST.
Located on the Mediterranean coast, Ashkelon, known for its archaeological site and the world’s largest seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant, appears deserted today.
The silence is perforated by blasts from Hamas rockets stopped by the Iron Dome with almost a metronomic regularity.
While the Israeli Iron Dome — a mobile all-weather air defense system that tracks and intercepts missiles — has been active since Saturday, one or two Hamas rockets can slip through, causing heavy damage on the ground.
There is no official figure on the dead and the injured in Ashkelon. The hospitals here are working overtime to treat the injured.
Over the last three days, Israel has counted over 800 dead. Palestinian officials say Israel’s barrage of strikes on Gaza has raised the toll there past 500.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Gaza civilians to get away from all Hamas sites, which he has vowed to turn “to rubble” — a declaration that has raised concern in the United Nations.
Earlier today, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said his country would impose a “complete siege” on the long blockaded enclave and stressed what this meant for its 2.3 million people: “No electricity, no food, no water, no gas — it’s all closed”.
“While I recognize Israel’s legitimate security concerns, I also remind Israel that military operations must be conducted in strict accordance with international humanitarian law,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The violence, he added, “does not come in a vacuum”.
“The reality is that it grows out of a long-standing conflict, with a 56-year-long occupation and no political end in sight,” he added.