Sderot cinema. Israelis bringing chairs 2 hilltop in sderot 2 watch latest from Gaza. Clapping when blasts are heard. pic.twitter.com/WYZquV62O7 [1]
— Allan Sørensen (@allansorensen72) July 9, 2014 [2]
Danish journalist Allan Sørensen [3] posted this image on Twitter, which shows residents watching and celebrating Gaza being bombed. Sørensen has confirmed he took the picture on Wednesday night [4] (July 9) at a hilltop in the frontline Israeli city Sderot.
Sørensen is the Middle East correspondent with the Danish newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad. [5]
Some western media outlets like the Telegraph, have said Sderot is being battered by missiles and rockets from Gaza. The article “Israel's front line town of Sderot battered by [6] missiles [6]” published by the Telegraph [6]on June 9, around the time Sørensen took this picture, says: “Residents of the ‘city of rockets’ just a mile from Gaza describe the fear of living under bombardment by missiles.”
Sderot [7]has a population of 24,000 people and covers a five-square-kilometer area.
Earlier this week Israel launched the massive “Operation Defensive Edge” against Gaza, which has killed over 80 Palestinians so far [8], many of them women and children. From Gaza, Hamas, which has ruled the strip since 2007, has fired missiles [9] into Israel. As of July 11, Israeli officials reported [8] that no Israelis had been killed as a result. Most of the rockets coming into Israel have caused no serious damage, due in part to the US-funded Iron Dome aerial defense system, which has intercepted at least 70 projectiles so far, [8] according to the Guardian.