PALI ROCKETS BOMBARD SDEROT

Palestinian Rocket Lands Near Israeli School Wednesday - Shmulik Hadad
A Palestinian rocket landed Wednesday morning near an elementary school and a kindergarten in Sderot shortly before the start of the school day. (Ynet News)

See also Palestinians Improve Rockets: Sderot Turns into Ghost Town - Yael Ivri
The streets of Sderot seemed emptier than ever. A large number of residents left the city for safer places. Those who stayed did not dare to leave the houses and the fortified areas. Only a few dared to go out to the market and the commercial centers, places which in the past were teeming with life. "Today the parents are afraid to send their children outside, and I understand them," said Haim Baranes, 28. "For a month and a half now, since they began firing the improved Kassam rockets at us, since the injuries and casualties here, people are afraid. I myself am under stress, most of my friends and the people my age have left the city." (Ynet News)

Israelis Bombarded with Rockets from Gaza - Carolynne Wheeler
The psychological impact of daily alarms that warn of incoming rockets is mounting. Schools struggle to function and streets are largely deserted as families do what they can to get out of Sderot, or at least stay out of harm's way. At Alon Madaim school, the roof has been reinforced with steel plates, walls reinforced with plaster over steel, and windows coated to prevent shattering. On the side facing the Gaza Strip, a stand-alone exterior wall is ready to bear the brunt of rockets. Only a general assembly area, the gymnasium, and a few classrooms are not protected. Still, children are afraid an alarm will sound while they're in the hallway. "People don't realize what's going on here, really," said Liora Pima, the school's principal. (Globe and Mail-Canada)