Enough is enough, say Israelis

2009-01-03 22:50

Patrick Moser

Israel-Gaza Border - As the skies above Gaza light up with artillery fire, Israelis living along the border of the territory anxiously hope the barrage will once and for all silence Hamas's guns.

Standing outside a cafe near Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, a soldier wearing the traditional Jewish skullcap quietly prays, seemingly oblivious to the loud blasts inside Gaza, located just three kilometres away.

A week into a massive aerial and naval bombardment of Hamas targets in Gaza, Israel began shelling the territory with artillery - a move that in the past has preceded ground operations.

Inside, a family and an elderly couple quietly watch events unfold on television.

Like other Israelis living near the Gaza border, they are weary from the thousands of rockets that Gaza militants have sent their way over the past eight years, since the start of the second Palestinian uprising.

Halting the rocket fire is the main reason Israel has given for launching its deadly offensive on Hamas on December 27, which has killed at least 460 Palestinians in hundreds of air strikes.

"If a ground offensive is necessary, so be it," says Rachel Gadosh, who says she has stopped running for shelter when sirens warning of incoming rockets wail in her kibbutz collective farm.

"For eight years we have been attacked by Qassams (rockets), we can't take it anymore."

"What can we do at home? We just ask God for this to end and to give us courage," the 50-year-old woman says.

Outside, the rumble of fighter jets and assault helicopters can be heard.

Dozens of communities surrounding the Hamas-ruled territory have become ghost-towns since the Israeli army launched its deadly air bombings.

Militants in Gaza have responded by firing nearly 500 rockets against southern Israel, striking deeper than ever and killing four people.

Like his government, 60-year-old Daniel Sagi says Hamas brought the deadly offensive on itself.

"We have been under pressure for almost eight years," he says. "Hamas brought this upon Gaza. We are very angry that our government didn't do anything until now."

His wife Ada nods in agreement.

"Enough is enough," she says, adding that eventually the violence has to bring about calm.

"We need a ceasefire," she says. "Not for one year but for all our lives. We are neighbours, we have to live together."

- AFP