Post date: Nov 17, 2012 5:55:51 PM
Israelis flock to Gaza border to watch 'live' war.
ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER AREA, ISRAEL (NOVEMBER 17, 2012) (REUTERS) - Dozens of Israelis on Saturday (November 17) packed a picnic basket and drove to Gaza's border area to watch the cross-border violence between Israel andHamas for their own eyes.
While rockets were launched out of Gaza, Israelis stood on area near the border withGaza Strip to watch the Iron Dome intercepting rockets launched from the enclave.Around 400 rockets have fallen in Israel since Wednesday and around 240 were intercepted by the Iron Dome system.
Men with binoculars watched from a hill near the border.
The Israeli military took delivery of a fifth Iron Dome anti-missile battery on Saturday and deployed it in the Tel Aviv area, the army said, underscoring concerns over the range of Palestinian rockets.
Officials in Gaza said 38 Palestinians, half of them civilians including eight children and a pregnant woman, had been killed in Gaza since Israel began its air strikes. Three Israeli civilians were killed by a rocket on Thursday (November 15) .
The Israeli military said some 150 rockets fired from Gaza had hit Israel since Friday and at least 83 more were intercepted by its Iron Dome anti-missile system.
Hamas fighters are no match for the Israeli military. The last Gaza war, involving a three-week long Israeli air blitz and ground invasion over the New Year period of 2008-2009, killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians. Thirteen Israelis died.