Israel gets attack #4 - Eitan Vazani.
-------------------------------------
.
Last night we had another missile attack.  Again, it was a single
missile (like on the day before).  But this time - surprise - the
Patriot missiles successfully intercepted the Scud.  The Scud missile
was meant for Haifa (Israel 3rd large city, in the North).  Not one
person was hurt, only some windows broke because of the explosion.
We feel better now, knowing that the Patriots can protect us, but it
can also drive the Iraqis mad, and they will try to launch many
missiles at once, enough for us to run out of Patriots.  And it is
not clear what happens when a Patriot intercepts a Scud with a chemical
warhead - this can prove a real trouble.
But we were glad anyway.
.
Yesterday, I went to look at the place were the missile had landed the
night before (attack #3).  This was the first time I see something like
this in my own eyes, and now it seems like I had a bad dream.
This is a simplified drawing of the area:
.
             +---------+        +---------+
 Partially   |        #|        |         |
 collapsed-> |   ######|        |#########| <-Completely destroyed &
             +---------+     ***|#########| <-collapsed, disappeared.
                                +---------+
             +---------+        +---------+
 Damaged but |      ###|        |         | <-This part is being built-
 in 1 piece->|         |        |---------|   didn't get a scratch!
             |         |        |         |
             +---------+        +---------+
.
Each block is a building, the "***" is where the missile hit the ground.
The "##" represent severely damaged building.
All buildings are 2 stories high, but the lower-left one, which is 3.
.
The place is 5 minutes walk from my office.  Air distance is about
500 yards.  When I walked there, it was very easy to locate.  At 400
yards away, I saw the first broken windows, only a few of them.
As I approached, there were more broken windows, piled under each
building.  As I approached more, the piles became bigger, and contained
not only glass, plastics and wood, but also pieces of all kinds of
stuff you find in every house.
Police tried to prevent crowding around the place, but many people came
to see what a Scud can do.  The police blocked the nearby streets about
120 yards away, but I sneaked in a bit more, to about 60 yards away.
Closer than that, only reporters, army and VIP could get.
There is no point in describing what I saw, since you can see it on TV.
But the point is in the strange feelings.  Suddenly, a place I know
so well, which used to be like an average living quarter of every other
city, looks like a big pile of broken glass, plastic, wood and iron.
Those who live around are wandering around confused, shocked.  This is
not a sight we are used to, (I repeat: Israel is a safe place!).
It made me imagine hot it should look if a missile hit MY house.
Something that I used to see on TV, in an action file or in a news
report from constant-war places like Lebanon, becomes a real thing.
I stood there for an hour, and I could not get my eyes off.  It is not
only the sight of the crashed building that strikes (I could barely see
it), but the damage around.  The signs of destructions that are so
clearly visible all around, the piles of debris, the TV crews, the
police, the army, the confused neighbors, the government agents
estimating the damage.
A strange feeling.
Thinking about it later, the Scuds are not very effective.  Only a
direct hit can destroy a building, and only if this is an old one.
New buildings, built by modern standards, won't break down.  It is
easily proven:  The building next to the crashed one is being built,
and it was not at all damaged.
Later, I heard from my father, that a friend from his work has an aunt
that LIVED IN THE CRASHED BUILDING, and she was NOT WOUNDED AT ALL,
except for the regular scratches and cuts.
This is amazing.
2 of the 3 people who died that night, died because of heart attack.
On of them lived more than a mile away.  The third died because of the
impact and the pressure of the walls that covered her.
All three were more than 60 years old.
.
Another point:  the destructive missile was successfully intercepted
by a Patriot missile, launched by Israeli crew.  Unfortunately, only
the rear part of the missile was destructed, while the explosive
warhead continued on its path of death.
.
But, as I mentioned before, a Patriot destroyed the last missile, and
the mood is better.
I have to wait a few more days before I can try to figure out Iraq's
"policy" of launching missiles, so I will stop here.
.
Bye,
Eitan Vazani,
Israel.


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