‘All I saw was fire’: Rockets fracture the sense of safety in Tel Aviv

During the past few years, while no full-scale conflict has been declared, Israel has often bombed Gaza while militants have launched hundreds of rockets on Israeli towns and cities in the south.

Smoke is seen from a collapsed building after it was hit by Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Picture: AP Photo/Khalil Hamra

For children under the age of seven in Tel Aviv, this week was probably the first time their parents had to wake them in a panic, rush to a bomb shelter, and try to explain what was happening.

Tal Morry, a lawyer and mother, pretended to her five-year-old son that there was a firework show. However, the ruse did not last long. “Other kids told him the truth,” she sighed.