After another day of relative quiet, two Qassam rockets were fired at western Negev communities from the Gaza Strip Sunday evening.
One landed in Sderot and the second landed on a highway outside the city. Both landed in what the media refer to as "open areas". However, this term doesn't quite manage to accurately represent what happens when a rocket falls, and residents end up feeling that the public only acknowledges their plight when tragedy strikes.
Ilana Azran was at home with her five children when the rocket hit right outside her house. When she heard the Color Red siren, she rushed her children beneath the stairs of their home - as the family has no protected room. After the boom, she hurried to the phone.
"That's when the stress starts, because then there are all the hysterical phone calls, 'where did it fall' and 'are you okay'? Parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, relatives - everyone calls, and at the same time you have to calm the kids down," Azran said.
"We'll never get used to this fear. Every time I'm traumatized anew, and you always think – if I'd been outside it could have gotten me. The fear is paralyzing. But no one pays attention. They wait until there's a tragedy and only then does the public acknowledge our situation."
'We're the real prisoners'
Rina Mor-Yosef, who lives near where the rocket hit, told Ynet: "On a day when they're talking about freeing prisoners ,they have to understand that we're the real prisoners here, held hostage by this government."
Meir Dahan heard the explosion loud and clear. He doesn't have a protected room either. "I sat and I prayed. What can I do? Where can I run to? The situation sucks. Every time it's scarier, and then the news says the rocket landed in an open area, but does anyone even understand what that means and how scary that is too? How traumatic for the kids?"
Acting Mayor Rabbi Oren Malka was building his sukkah when the rocket hit. He said he hoped he could sit in it during the holiday.
"I think the fear starts as soon as you hear the Color Red," Malka said. "It's enough to hear it to understand how stressful and terrible it is. Unfortunately, this is our routine. I hope the politicians' declarations are realized. I decided that my job is to work towards one main thing – to try to attain as much quiet as possible for the townspeople here. I'm trying my hardest."