KIRYAT SHEMONA, Israel – Yossi Vaknin says he’s got rocket- dodging down to a science since being forced underground by Hezbollah missiles.
Sitting outside public shelter 110, in a tank-top and flip-flops, he smokes a cigarette and glances at his watch. It’s almost 4 p.m. “This is their time,” he says.
Sure enough, just moments later, there is the familiar whistle followed by a loud explosion nearby. He’s already safely in the shelter, as another Katyusha rocket slams into his hometown.
Based on experience and gut instincts, Vaknin, 29, has cultivated a routine in the nearly three weeks since the missile barrages began. As of Monday, Kiryat Shemona has been hit 215 times since fighting began July 12, according to Yedidia Freudenberg, the city’s security chief.
On Sunday alone, the city, located some two miles from the Lebanese border, was bombarded with 75 Katyusha rockets, by far the most since fighting began.
Katyushas are nothing new in Kiryat Shemona. The town has been a favorite target of guerrillas in Lebanon since 1968, when the first rocket arrived. But even the town’s oldest veterans say they can’t remember anything close to the massive strikes in recent weeks.
Unlike others, who fear the night, Vaknin says 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. are the most dangerous hours. So he plans his brief excursions home for showers, meals and cigarette breaks accordingly. He’ll watch a movie underground in the afternoon, for example, and then go home in the evening for a breather.
“In 32 years here, I can’t remember such madness,” said Vadkin’s mother, Esther, as she whipped together lunch in her barren home, before scurrying back to the shelter.
“What can you do? I’m still here. This is where I got married, this is where I raised my children, and this is where my grandchildren were born. This is where I’ll stay. I’ll die here and I’ll be buried here, too.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
