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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gaza-israel-targets-hamas-officials-home-2-die-064029014.html
Gaza Attacks Trigger Israeli Exodus from Gaza Border
(AP) Ian Deitch - With Palestinian mortar fire raining down on their communities, hundreds of Israelis left their homes along the border with Gaza on Monday. Officials estimate that 70% of the 40,000 inhabitants of the farming communities along the Gaza border have left over the course of the fighting. Fields that once yielded vegetables and flowers are barren and pockmarked by Palestinian mortar shells. Israel's missile defenses have been largely ineffective against short-range mortar fire - a deficiency underscored when a 4-year-old boy was killed Friday by a Palestinian mortar shell. The military said Monday that the mortar that killed the boy was fired several meters away from a school in Gaza. Elazar Ashtivkar, a 30-year-old father of four, left Nahal Oz, the scene of the deadly attack, several weeks ago with his family. He said nearly all of the residents have left. Only a few workers in charge of taking care of the cows along with some security personnel remain.