The results of a survey published on Monday show that over 55 percent of the residents of the southern Israel town of Sderot have suffered either physical or mental injury as a result of Palestinian rocket fire from the neighboring Gaza Strip.
Conducted by the NATAL terror victims organization, the poll painted a devastating picture of the effect of the ongoing terrorist onslaught on the residents of this small working-class town:
- 90 percent have seen or heard a rocket strike;
- 65 percent know someone who was physically injured by a rocket;
- 48 percent know someone who has died in a rocket attack;
- 74 percent of children between the ages of 7 and 12 suffer intense fear;
- 86 percent of children between the ages of 12 and 14 suffer from post-traumatic stress.
Sderot has been pummeled by thousands of rockets over the past five years, with a sharp increase since Israel withdrew from Gaza and Hamas seized power there.