Beams Bulletin: South of Israel Under Attack from Gaza

Israel, 5:45 PM local time - during the last 60 minutes, more than 100 rockets have been fired at Israel from Hamas in Gaza. There have been damages, such as direct hits on a house, a bus and a gas pipeline. Most of the hits are in Sderot and Gaza-belt settlements, but sirens have hava also sounded down the road from us in Ashkelon, where all the public bomb shelters have been opened, in Ofaqim, Netivot, Kibbutz Saad and elsewhere. We have not heard of fatalities, Heaven forbid, but there have been casualties. From here in Ashdod, we can see jet fighters on their way to Gaza. Pray for Israel and we should all make every effort to rid our mouths of evil speech about anyone.

Last night, Lt. Col. "M", commander of an IDF special ops unit, was killed operating in Gaza. The whole operation has been hushed up and it's quite a mystery. It's rare that the IDF doesn't release the name of a fallen officer or soldier. Something is wierd...

Let's not forget that Hashem runs the world. Emuna, teshuva and prayer are still our best weapons. 

Update, 6:30 PM, Israel local time - we've just heard that three people in Ashkelon have been wounded by shrapnel from the exploding incoming missiles. There are additional casualties as well. Just now, more missile fire at Ashkelon. Beer Sheva is now on alert.