After weeks of ceasefire, fighting resumed in Gaza on Tuesday as the IDF struck dozens of targets. Residents of Israeli border communities, who had hoped for a gradual return to normalcy, once again found themselves hearing explosions, and were left without open schools for their children and facing uncertainty.
"Our morning started at 2 a.m. Families have already packed their bags and left the kibbutz," said Martin Siorno, a member of Kibbutz Mefalsim’s management. "We don't know if the kibbutz will need to be evacuated again. We're especially worried about the children because all schools and kindergartens are closed, meaning parents can't go to work."
“Our lives are on hold again and no one is telling us what to do. Whoever can is packing up and leaving. We're back in a war zone. It's frustrating. We wake up in the morning and realize that Hamas is still in control of Gaza," he added.
Liad, a resident of Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, shared a similar sentiment. "It's a terrible deja vu. The saddest part is that we're back here after a year and a half and it's still not over. The hostages are still not home. I considered packing a bag and coming back in a few days. It felt like we were one step away from the end, that we could return to normal and rebuild. Turns out we can't. We're back to nighttime explosions and a wartime routine."
Doron Shabtai, a father and resident of Sderot, pointed out the absurdity of the situation. "On one hand, it's a terrible experience — there's once again anxiety over rockets and we're preparing for possible evacuation. We've been through this before. When they announce that schools are closed but workplaces stay open, the parents need to deal with it," he said. "It's infuriating because these people have been abandoned by the state time and time again.
"On the other hand, we saw Hamas reorganizing during the weeks of ceasefire and you could hear gunfire from Gaza. It's an impossible situation and I don't know how to solve it. We're ready for evacuation — we packed our bags and drove to Ashdod today, but it's a tough dilemma. Evacuating is traumatic but so is having rockets hit your home."
As fighting with Hamas resumed overnight with waves of airstrikes across Gaza, the terror group claimed more than 400 people were killed and reports from the Strip said six senior Hamas officials were eliminated.
The aerial campaign was designed to take Hamas by surprise after the IDF gathered intelligence on hundreds of new targets during the two-month ceasefire. Over 20,000 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were identified as having redeployed across Gaza.
The decision to launch a widespread air assault — and effectively end the ceasefire — was made in response to Hamas' preparations for attacks, its military buildup during the lull and its successful rearmament efforts, according to military officials.
As part of the large-scale airstrikes, the IDF is targeting mid-level Hamas commanders, senior figures in the terror group’s politburo and terror infrastructure.
