In Gaza, a number of buildings destroyed in the last war with Israel in 2014 still have not been rebuilt The streets of Gaza City, usually bustling and noisy, were deserted on Tuesday morning GAZA: Israeli strikes kept Palestinians in Gaza on edge throughout the night over whether another devastating war was beginning, while tens of thousands of Israelis took refuge in shelters as rockets rained down. “What happened was like an earthquake,” said Abu Ayman Lemzeni, who lives near Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV building in Gaza City destroyed by an Israeli strike. “As you see, here there is no more the grocery, the pharmacy, the office, the wall, the building.” “The children are afraid. They are terrorized,” said Gaza resident Jamal Murtaja. “We could not sleep last night or this morning.” Many had only a short time to flee their homes and found themselves in the street due to a lack of secure shelters. “As soon as we saw the missiles, we ran outside the house,” said Mohammed Aboud, who lives near the former Al-Amal Hotel building. “We are civilians. We don’t have guns or rockets.” Just 20 km away, on the other side of Israel’s heavily guarded security fence, the more than 128,000 residents of the coastal Israeli city of Ashkelon spent the night under rocket fire. “The girls are traumatized. It’s not possible,” said father of three Meir Edery. Edery and his family took refuge in a shelter. A police spokesman said Israelis in Ashkelon have little more than 30 seconds to reach a secure location once an alert sounds. “We are demanding that the government give us the ability to raise our children securely,” Edery said. “It’s our most basic right.” Behind him, neighbors called out “destroy Hamas,” the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip and with whom Israel has fought three wars since 2008. Along the city’s port, nearly all stores had their shutters closed. Under the azure blue sky, Nissim Arzoane, 65, came to cast his fishing line in the sea, as he does each day. “We have to show them that we are not afraid,” he said. Israeli authorities ordered the closure of schools and kindergartens, and many streets were deserted. Betty Calvo, 63, could not sleep at all the previous night. In Gaza, a number of buildings destroyed in the last war with Israel in 2014 still have not been rebuilt. The streets of Gaza City, usually bustling and noisy, were deserted on Tuesday morning. “We have not forgotten the last war in 2014,” said Mohamed Bulbul, who lives in the southern sector of the city. “People are tired of wars. That’s enough.”