Israel expecting another Iraqi missile attack - Eitan Vazani.
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.
It is night again, almost midnight.  I spent the last several hours in
my girlfriends house.  We already had an alarm.  Again, with beating
hearts, we ran into the sealed room and wore the gas masks.  Again,
fear and uncertainty.  It took 15 minutes until the army announced
that we can relax, there is no missile attack.  This happened because
of an information about an attack, which proved to be incorrect.
At the same time, we learned later, there was also an alarm in Saudi-
Arabia and Bahrain.
.
I am sitting to write again.  It is 1:15 am and I just finished
watching TV (Wise Guy).  In the middle we had another alarm.  This
time my brother (who came back from the army for a vacation), was the
first to notice.  We jumped on our feet and rushed to wake up our
parents.  Until they woke up, the alarm stopped.  We listened to the
radio - nothing, just music.  Within several minutes we heard the
cancellation alarm.  A minute later the radio informed us that we can
relax.  Another minute passed and we were informed that this happened
due to a Soviet satellite launch or destruction.
.
We are becoming very sensitive and very nervous.  We are virtually
waiting for an attack.  We jump to every sound louder than usual.
This is a very heavy load on our nerves, but we won't break down.
There are no signs of panic in Israel.  No one is trying to escape
to the (safe) south.  The TV and radio people are doing wonderful
job.  They sound calm and relaxed all the time, even when the alarms
sound, and even when a missile attack is going on outside.
We, and probably the rest of the Western countries, are waiting to see
in which way Israel will reply Saddam's missiles.  We have a feeling
that a surprise is being planned for Saddam.  Maybe it won't be soon,
but he will be punished.
.
I guess I'll play some more games.  Maybe I'll try some fighter pilot
simulation, and imagine that I am bombing Iraqi missile sights...
.
Nervous, tired, but strong, patient and proud,
Eitan Vazani,
Israel.