The "situation"

the melting rubik cube is us. about
20 km to Tel Aviv.

So, we're having a "situation" right now. We definitely knew this could happen while we were here. I hear that American news coverage makes it sound really bad, and when I read Israeli news (in English) it sounds really bad, but despite being within 80km/50mi of Gaza, I am not experiencing anything other than a slightly heightened sense of ansty-ness. (80km is the maximum distance from the Gaza border to be included in the special security zone.)

Yesterday, schools were closed in Tel Aviv and gatherings of more than 300 people prohibited. We are north of Tel Aviv by about 20 km and have heard no air sirens and had no school cancellations. The public bomb shelters are open and there's one on our street if we were to need it. All residences built after a certain year have one room designated as a bomb shelter (it's H's room). This room has an extra thick door and an extra gate over its tiny window. You're not meant to be in there for long--just 10 minutes after the air siren ends.

I've talked to the girls about how this got started, the most immediate reasons for why it was started, how the retaliation is going, and what escalation means. I find it comforting and sad that the rockets sent into Israel from Gaza do very little damage--the power difference between these two sides is so huge. The girls' schools have done drills. Both schools cancelled after-school activities yesterday. They seem ok (although A wanted to know what happens if she loses her special friend, so I know her mind went to dark places) and I'll keep checking in with them (I'm sure Josh will too--he just had impossible work hours yesterday for having family conversations.)

This the public bomb shelter on our block.
There's stairs that lead down to the shelter.
Usually that door is kept shut.

I'm thinking a lot about the loss of life--24 Palestinian lives so far, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry--wishing for alternatives other than assassination for protecting Israelis, reading about Israelis admitted to hospitals from anxiety attacks (400+ rockets sent into communities around the Gaza strip over two days so far), learning about the Iron Dome, retching at some of the rhetoric in the Israel Times, and hoping this won't last long.

I would like the antsy-ness to go away so that I can focus better on my work, but then again... I do not want to normalize any of this.

Thank you to all who have checked in with us. I'm relieved to report that we could be oblivious to the situation if we wanted to.