Another Rocket Hits Aleh Negev

Aleh Hanegev is a center based in the Negev taking care of severely disabled children. I have visited there and seen the wonderful conditions and the staff.

With a war in Gaza and the indiscriminate firing of rockets by Hamas, who knows where they will land. Consequently at the Aleh center, special precautions have to be taken. read and account of how they deal with a code red alert of an incoming missile.

Another Rocket Hits Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran! Damage caused to property, but residents & staff are safe

Jul 20, 2014

“Only after I saw that all the residents were ok and that no one was hurt was I able to breathe a sigh of relief.  When the piercing sound of the siren blared, we didn’t have time to think about ourselves – our immediate concern was the residents.  The minute I closed the door of the safe room, we heard a deafening boom – the whole house shook from the impact.  Most of the residents were sleeping when it happened; amazingly, despite the commotion, they managed to sleep safely on…”

-- Eyal Hyosub, in charge of the overnight shift at Bet Shachar-one of the Residence Houses at Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran

Timeline:  Thursday night – Friday    

July 17-18

1:00 a.m.

A barrage of rockets cleave the skies over Ofakim and the neighboring area – including the Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran Rehabilitation Village for the Disabled.

A rocket falls directly inside the Village.  Shards and shrapnel scatter widely – hitting Bet Shachar.  Damage is sustained, with windows shattered and property destroyed.

Miraculously – and also through careful adherence to the rules and regulations laid out by Home Front Command –residents and staff are unhurt.

The windows shattered only in rooms that were empty at the time. 

Eran Hyosub, the shift manager, and Galia Ezekiel, the young woman volunteering at ALEH Negev as part of her National Service, were two of the staff members on duty that evening who had to make sure the residents were safely in the shelter.

The Home Front Command has advised the management of the village to keep all residents in the safe rooms around the clock for the duration of the operation. Only those who can walk or can be moved quickly inside are able to take a short trip outside with their caregivers, but they are not allowed to venture very far from the shelters. Every building on the premises has a safe area.

“But some of the residents are not willing to sleep in the shelters,” says Hyosub, “so when the siren went off, we had to rush them back inside as quickly as possible. Only after seeing all the residents were safe and sound, could we relax. While the siren sounds, we do not think about ourselves, but only think about the residents.

“As soon as I closed the door of the shelter, we heard a strong explosion. The house shook from the impact. Fortunately there were no casualties. Most of the residents were asleep at the time and didn’t hear anything.”