Israel: Reality Under Missile Attacks · Global Voices
Gilad Lotan

Israelis have been using social media to document and share their experiences over the past five days as Hamas rockets fall like rain on cities across the Southern and Central regions of Israel. While the IDF has been heavily using Twitter to control the message and rally support online, many Israelis turn to Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to share their day-to-day experiences in dealing with the tense situation.
Assaf Farhadian is a student in Be'er Sheva, Israel's largest city in the south, which has been continuously targeted by missiles. As the sirens are activated, Assaf takes shelter in stairway hall, which is said to be the most secure part of the apartment building.
Ashdod, the sixth largest city in Israel situated just 20 miles south of Tel Aviv, has been targeted by missiles since the last operation in Gaza, Cast Lead, in 2008. Numerous videos have been uploaded to Youtube showing scenes of siren going off and the aftermath of missiles hitting:
Sderot is a city in close proximity to the Gaza border. Missile attacks aren't new to the residents of Sderot, yet there have been a number of direct hits on people's houses. The Shadadi family lost their house in yesterday's missile attack:
The Shadadi's home after a Hamas attack. Photograph shared on Twitter by @JewishAgency
@JewishAgency: Damage in the Shadadi family home. Virtually all of the daughter's belongings were destroyed. #IsraelUnderFire pic.twitter.com/3YoEFa7A
The Iron Dome is an Israeli created air-defense system that has been intercepting over 90 per cent of all missiles shot from Gaza. The following video shows the Iron Dome intercepting 12 Hamas missiles in the skies above Be'er Sheva.
Amir Kdomi shot the following video from his apartment in the Tel-Aviv region. You can hear the sirens going off and then the interception of the missile by the Iron Dome system:
Ronny, creator of Israel-Loves-Iran, a Facebook movement with over 100,000 followers, was in bed in Tel Aviv when the sirens went off this morning. He describes his experience during the missile attack:
‎10 minutes ago , another attack on telaviv. i was in bed when the siren went off. Michal and the kids are at a friends house for the day. i was a bit sleepy, didn't find my shirt, just put my trouser took my phone and went for the stairs. there is this spot in the middle of the building witch is the safest, it s just between 1and 2 floor. then Tiki (she s our neighbor, mother of Shira, friend with Ela) just rush out her apartment. she was in th middle of morning shower when the siren started ..so she was all wet in a big towel. we look at each other, the siren was still on and we just start laughing..
wasn't funny. but… it was funny. we heard a big boom, i can tell now that the missile was intercepted in the air, and we keep laughing 2 minute till the stress blow off.
ronny. tel aviv
Over the past couple of years, this has become the norm in cities across the Israeli south. Now the missile reach has expanded to the Tel-Aviv region. Many worry that as long as Hamas is in power, this will never stop.