“We cease—they fire,” is a common lament in the Israeli town of Sderot. Over 100 rockets have been fired into Israel since the November 26 ceasefire agreement between the Israeli army and Gaza militants. Most of those are falling into Sderot (Agence France Presse, January 7). An average of two rockets per day fell on the citizens of Sderot in December.

Living in a city under constant attack has taken its toll physically as well as emotionally on the city’s residents. Imagine living in a town where the “Red Dawn” siren means you have less than 20 seconds to find cover. This is not a recent phenomenon. Kassam rockets have regularly rained down on Sderot since 2000, launched from covert bases in Gaza.

The constant threat demolished the local economy long ago. Realtors can’t move property at any price, much less a profit. Said one resident, “Those who had the means to leave did it long ago. Those who are still here are people like me. They are people who don’t have a choice.”

Unceasing bombardment has taken its toll on flesh and bone. “We have been here since the rockets began, suffering as usual,” said another resident. The rockets have killed six people and injured scores of others. In late December, an attack severely injured two ninth graders walking home from studying for an exam.

Low morale in Sderot is not just due to the onslaught of rockets, however. Sderot’s problem is largely government inaction. The saying in Sderot is, the government has ceased firing, but the militants across the border have not. The lack of reprisals against the rocket attackers is nothing short of betrayal in Sderot residents’ eyes. Incredibly, they are suing their own government for not defending them.

The most pervasive fallout is mental. Adriana Kat, director of the city’s mental health facility, says her organization is helping “an enormous number” of patients. “Insomnia, depression, inability to work, family squabbles, medication dependency—it is all very serious.” In this city of 24,000, fully 5,000 have checked into this facility.

Residents of Sderot live in constant fear of their lives. Amazingly, this condition was prophesied as a curse against Israel thousands of years ago. God decreed that “terror” would cause “sorrow of heart” for those who turned from His law (Leviticus 26:16). A consistent hail of explosives falling on your city certainly is a curse in itself, but the emotional and mental consequences linger after the shattered glass is replaced and the pitted concrete patched. The ever-looming threat of attack has ripped the hope out of Sderot. Its residents see themselves as outcasts. “If the rockets were falling in the suburbs of Tel Aviv, the army would have found a solution a long time ago,” said one citizen.

Terrorism is living up to its name in Sderot. The terrorists don’t have to kill anyone in order to drain the spirit of their victims. Perpetual fear of attacks coupled with government neglect saps hope. Said Adriana Kat, “The worst thing is that we cannot tell them: ‘Be patient, it will calm down soon’ …. Here, we know that tomorrow will only be worse.”

Does tomorrow only hold more pain for Sderot? The shelling of Sderot may continue through more manmade cease-fires in coming months and years, but the rockets will stop—though not because of Israeli government action. To find out more about the coming times of peace, read our booklet The Wonderful World Tomorrow.