Update:

Israel attacked Hamas government offices. Mash'al calls to third intifada (umm. Please no?). Abu Mazen calls to talking (please yes!). More rockets launches towards Israel.

Update: IDF says people in Be'er Sheva, Yanve and Gedera have to make sure they have safe/secured rooms in their homes (I have no idea how to translated it - Nilly? - it's a more secured room in case of getting hit).

My parents house is miles away, but I wonder what's our secured room. Ever since I moved south, I can't recall any home with secured room. I have a shelter in my building in Jerusalem - I think it's ready in case of, too. Though there will be no interwebs there, which is a major downside.

Edit: more update: rocket in Ashkelon, now 40km from the Strip. I think one of the rockets in Ashdod hit a power station - they're reporting there are blackouts in Israel, and that there is a failure in Ashdod power station. I hope it's not a rocket.

Also, I'm not sure what is happening with the dead Fatah prisoners in Gaza Strip.

Update #3: I heard jet planes over my house. Nothing on the news yet. Riots in East Jerusalem, causing police closing roads.

Nilly and Shir, Thank you for updates. I am so sorry that you have to experience any of this. Many thoughts of safety to you both.

javachik, I marked your link. Even only from your description, it reads like such a lovely story, over such a difficult background.

safe/secured rooms

Shir, sorry, I can't help you with a better translation for these words. It's pretty literal, IMHO.

safe/secured rooms

I checked the Home Front Command site - they call it secure space.

Their name sounds very wrong in English.

Also in "things that are wrong": Nilly, the "Case Lead" name - I still can't get over it.

I laughed at first. Now it just feels like they're violating my favorite holiday. Not that it felt like one the past couple of days.

Their name sounds very wrong in English.

I'll stick to "secure room", if that's OK with you, thank you very much.

"Case Lead"

For the non-Hebrew-speakers and non-Hebrew-Hanukkah-songs-singers among us, the "cast lead" name is taken from a children's Hanukkah song, about the things prepared for the holiday - the mom makes latkes, the dad brings a dreidle (sp?) made of cast lead, and so forth.

And, yes, it's connecting two things that really shouldn't go together.

I'll stick to "secure room", if that's OK with you, thank you very much.

Oh, I meant the Home Front Command.

Case Lead

Should be Cast Lead. My bad.

Home Front Command.

Well, the name is a sort of contradiction in and of itself in Hebrew, too - the front at the back? How can you call it?

Rear Command...?

Dunno.

Update: Syria stopped the peace talks with Israel. One news source saying hospitals in the north are getting ready... to what?