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In Israel's South, Families Worry about the Future of Life near Gaza
(New York Times) Isabel Kershner - Some parents of young children are questioning whether they want to continue living in Kibbutz Nahal Oz next to the border with Gaza, and in Israel's traumatized south. Nahal Oz was founded in the early 1950s, soon after the establishment of the State of Israel, as the first line of defense. In this latest Gaza conflict, the third in less than six years, thousands of rockets paralyzed life and the local economy, while residents bore the psychological brunt. Though the physical damage from rockets was minimized by Israel's Iron Dome antimissile defense system, there is no technological solution yet for the short-range mortars that took a much heavier toll on soldiers and civilians. The mortars now pose an existential threat to communities like Nahal Oz, closest to the border fence.