The schools are empty in Sderot, the roads are far from busy and the looks on people's faces are mostly miserable. Residents of the town don't hang many hopes on the government, turning instead to the "people who really make a difference" – business moguls who have already donated funds to save them and their children.
Qassam rockets are not a new phenomenon in Sderot, but residents say that their plight only gets attention when someone is hit. That's how they see Wednesday, when the country suddenly 'remembered' that there was a town living under daily attacks for several years now.
Closed school in Sderot (Photo: Amir Cohen)
Children are confused and their parents even more so. The primary dilemma they face is whether or not to send the children to school or keep them at home.
After Wednesday, most decided that the former was the better option. And so less than a fifth of Sderot's students showed up at school today, and those who did were sent back as they were often the only ones in class, sometimes even without a teacher.
The local municipality and ministry of education are trying to work out a solution to hold classes outside of the town.
The parents committee, however, has taken matters one step further, calling on business tycoons like Arcadi Gaydamak and Nochi Dankner to raise funds meant to evacuate the children from Sderot. Gaydamak stepped up the plate and the children are expected to be evacuated Friday afternoon to Eilat.