Mass Casualty Event: Rocket hits Ashkelon Shopping Center!

5:58 PM - Magen David Adom declares emergency mass casualty event -- direct rocket attack hit on Ashkelon Shopping Mall!

More to follow.

6:04 PM - Rocket (Grad/Katyusha) hits Kupat Cholim building within Ashkleon. Many wounded reported, unsure if they are victims of fright or wounded by shrapnel/explosion.

6:07 PM - Many trapped in rubble of the building. No estimates yet of # wounded.

6:08 PM - Wounded being evacuated to Ashkelon's Barzilai hospital by ambulances.

6:10 PM - No warning siren sounded prior to the rocket strike. Channel 10 reports dozens of wounded. Most of them are probably from fright.

6:17 PM - Five wounded taken to hospital already. Missile strikes Kupat Cholim (medical clinic) located in the Ashkelon Shopping Mall.

6:18 PM - No more wounded found...

6:23 PM - Another rocket landed in the shuk area of Ashkelon. Channel Two reports the Palestinian rocket launches came from the destroyed settlement of "Dugit" in the Gaza Strip which were evacuated as part of the Disengagement.

6:24 PM - As of now, 8 wounded: 2 seriously, 2 moderately, 4 lightly.

6:26 PM - 10 wounded: 3 seriously, 2 moderately, 5 lightly.

6:33 PM - Over 20 lightly wounded (shock/fright) being transported to hospitals

6:35 PM - Warnings of Additional Rocket Launches towards Ashkelon - emergency personnel running to shelters.

6:46 PM - More wounded found on 3rd floor of shopping mall.


Map/Location of rocket hit.

30 wounded treated so far.

6:50 PM - Channel 10 reports the Grad rocket that hit the shopping mall was smuggled into Gaza from Egypt and is manufactured in Iran.

6:56 Pictures from rotter.net of rocket attack on shopping mall.




6:58 PM - Reports that one of seriously wounded is a 2 year old baby girl -- both legs were severely wounded in the attack.

7:03 PM - Magen David Adom, IDF and Police raise Gaza surrounding community status to 3 (highest warning/preparedness level). IDF investigating why "Color Red" Emergency Broadcast system not activated.

7:09 PM - Shas MK Eli Yishai cancels dinner plans with George Bush and Ehud Olmert -- he is now on route to Ashkelon to meet the wounded.

7:11 PM - pictures of the rocket hit inside the Ashkelon shopping center



7:12 PM - Additional warning from IDF of possible incoming rocket attack on Ashkleon.

End of post. Not yet...

What better welcome could George Bush expect? Perhaps he and Olmert should visit the wounded in Ashkelon now as well? Cowards.

12:35 PM - Final Roll Call: 105 wounded, 4 seriously, 10 still hospitalized. Medical clinic inside the shopping mall totally destroyed.


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד

I Positively HATE, DESPISE, DETEST, LOATH New Blogger

The above error occurred when trying to access blogs all morning.

The migration to new blogger was rather painless...yet I knew this would happen. The REAL migraine started only a few minutes later after the "upgrade". (Downgrade is more like it)

Comments from readers included:

"Just to let you know since your technical difficulties blog I haven't been able to get your blog to bloglines" --DS

"Joe, since you and Jameel are sort of cousins, is his site experiencing trouble (again)? I can't leave a comment." --Neshama (left on joesettler's blog)

"Jameel you cockyhead, why isn't your blog working?" --RenReb [she didn't really write that...but if she read my blog more often she probably would have written it]

I think that Blogger should just put up the following video till they fix their software.


(Doesn't that sound give you the willies?)

But the real problem is that even for people who know what they're doing with computers, software, technical blogging, etc., they also get messed up.



In any event, I'm still looking for feedback on the mysterious Oz graffiti....

Happy TuBishvat in advance of Shabbat. Here's my posting (and pictures) from last year. This year I was too busy taking pictures of Oz graffiti.

Shabbat Shalom and a Happy Tu BiShvat!

--Jameel



Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael