After a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip early Monday morning destroyed a home in central Israel, involving seven people in one family and injuring three, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political rivals were quick to blame his government for failing to provide adequate security.
Head of the center-left Blue and White Party Benny Gantz, regarded as Netanyahu’s main rival in the upcoming April 9 national elections, said “Netanyahu has forsaken our security, and now Israelis once again have to live with sirens.”
“A reality like this, in which Israeli is held hostage by Hamas, is unprecedented and intolerable,” Gantz said, adding that Netanyahu’s efforts to fend off a possible indictment on corruption charges had distracted him from Israel’s security.
“Netanyahu should finally focus on Israel’s security rather than on his legal woes,” attacked Gantz.
Homeowner Daniel Wolf described the traumatic events of Monday morning. “I happened to fall asleep in the living room, and that saved my family because I could hear the siren, and I was the only one who woke up,” he said.
“I ran to my older daughter and my wife. I picked up the girls and ran to the secure room. My mom didn’t make it in. There was a ‘boom,’ then it was quiet. Later, there was a lot of dust and shouting everywhere. My mom was bleeding on the floor until the ambulance arrived. The secure room saved our lives,” continued Wolf.
“We’re in total shock. Everything happened quickly. We got the girls into the secure room and forgot to close the window. My mom was between the secure room and the kitchen, and didn’t make it inside—a lot of miracles happened here, and I hope Mom will be all right. My older daughter is fine; the little one was injured behind her ear. We’re trying to cheer them up.
“I saw the pictures of the house. We had dogs I loved and [that] were killed. I’m not a politician and don’t understand these things, but a solution must be found, because we can’t live like this,” he said.
Knesset member Moti Yogev (Union of Right-Wing Parties) said the latest attack was a product of Netanyahu’s lack of resolve in dealing with Hamas’s constant harassment of communities in southern Israel.
“Those who ignore the incendiary airborne devices, the mortars and the riots, we will see them spread all over Israel,” said Yogev.
The New Right, headed by Education Minister Naftali Bennett, issued a statement lamenting that “Israeli deterrence has collapsed, and Netanyahu failed to handle Hamas.”
Meanwhile, Yoni Wolf, Daniel’s brother, praised him for getting his family to safety before the rocket struck.
Yoni Wolf said he was still “in shock.”
“I never thought this would happen here, but there is no urge for revenge,” Wolf said, adding that “the government’s policy has failed so far. We need to re-establish deterrence and restore sanity.”