The Red Alert incoming rocket siren yanked parents in the Ashkelon Coastal region out of bed at around 4:40 am Monday morning, forcing them to awaken their sleeping children and drag them into bomb shelters and other safe spaces.
They raced to reach safety within the scant 15-second window that exists before a rocket or mortar shell lands in the area after being launched from Gaza.
Things had barely quieted down back to normal, with security personnel still searching the area to see where — and even if — any rockets or mortar shells had actually landed, when once again, Red Alert rocket sirens wailed through the Ashkelon Regional Council district at 5:14 am, jerking the next round of Israeli parents and other adults suddenly from their beds.
These sirens blared their alerts through the Ashkelon Industrial area, as well as through the Lachish region and the communities of Zikim, Carmiya, Yad Mordechai and Netiv Ha’Asara.
This is a developing story.