A Daily Analysis
By Marc Schulman

February 29, 2008 A War in the South

By now there can be no question, there is a war going on in Southwest
Israel. 40 Qassams fell on Sderot and the communities immediately
surrounding Gaza today. In addition 5 Grad missiles fell on Ashkelon.
The Grad has a 30 kilometer range so all of Ashkelon and the
surrounding areas can be hit. Ashkelon has 120,000 citizens, including
25,000 children.

A decision has been made to start using the Yellow warning system that
warns of an incoming missile in Ashkelon. That is a difficult decision
in a large city like Ashkelon. Where are the people to go if the alert
goes off? The Ministry of Defense has begun to reinforce key buildings
including, hospitals and schools, in Ashkelon. At 8:30 a Grad hit a
residential area in Ashkelon. Following the hit, people started
demonstrating.

Israel has responded with 24 air strikes on Gaza. Israel is making it
clear that all the members of Hamas are now open targets for attack.
The pressure is clearly mounting for a major ground attack. There is
only limited time that Israel can allow a large city like Ashkelon to
be under attack. Vice Minister of Defense Matan Vilani stated in an
interview that Israelís plans are ready, and they are nothing like what
the media expects.