Israeli fighter pilots were busy late Monday night, flying sorties over Gaza to retaliate for Hamas terror attacks and repeated rocket fire aimed at southern Israel.

Gaza terrorists launched at least six rocket attacks at Israeli civilian communities overnight, sending families racing for their shelters and safe rooms nearly every hour from midnight to 3:30 am.

Missile fire was aimed at the coastal city of Ashkelon, and Qassam rockets were launched at the nearby Sdnot Negev and Eshkol Regional Council districts. Rockets fell in open fields, where no property damage was reported.

Several other rockets exploded near a packaging factory and a number of vehicles, causing damage, according to local reports. In addition at least one person was treated for trauma; several other residents suffered anxiety attacks as well.

The Israel Air Force immediately retaliated, striking rocket launcher sites and other terrorist targets in central and southern Gaza.

More than 30 terror targets were destroyed within a few minutes’ time, according to local Gaza sources, who said the air strikes “caused many explosions” especially in the southern area of the region.

In addition to the air force, Israeli Navy personnel and tank artillery participated in the attack, the sources said. Local medical workers reported that four people were wounded and one was missing in the town of Khan Yunis, a hotbed of terrorism and one of the sites where air strikes were carried out.

Israel has decided to build a series of assault posts designed to return fire rapidly in the event of an attack from across the border.

The decision came in response to just such an incident that occurred earlier this week, and cost the life of a 13-year-old Israeli boy. His father, a defense ministry contractor on a job along the security fence, was seriously wounded along with two others. They were sitting in a water truck when a Kornet anti-tank missile scored a direct hit on their vehicle. Mohammed Karkara paid the price and died in his father’s arms.

According to the IDF, live personnel will staff the series of assault stations — the “Defensive Canopy” to be strung out along the 210th Territorial Division — as the situation warrants. The “210th” is the area that secures Israel’s border with Syria in the Golan Heights.

The IDF maintains a similar series of posts in the south, strung out along the Gaza border as well. Within the stations are various types of technologies that allow for quick coordination between the various military elements – air force, ground troops, artillery and so forth – needed to repel any enemy attack.

During the Cast Lead war – a man came to my office for a meeting and during the conversation, told me he was a former artillery soldier. We talked about where Elie was, what was happening, and then the man said, “you know it damages their hearing, right?”

I was torn between wanting to say, “What?” as a joke and looking at him and asking him why he thought that was what he should be telling me at that moment, when I had enough on my mind without worrying about Elie’s long-term hearing abilities.

Whenever I mention this concern to Elie, he responds in one of two ways – either he tells me that this is why the IDF gives him very powerful ear protection, to lessen this impact of years ago…or he pulls the same joke and says, “What?”

An article in today’s Israel National News brings welcome news to artillery moms:

The IDF has recently purchased hundreds of Selective Smart Earplugs for combat soldiers. The new earplugs are miniscule electronic devices capable of reducing ambient noise, detecting and completely neutralizing noise over 80 decibels within one-hundredth of a second, and simultaneously interfacing with constantly active radio transmissions to make audible any human speech for command relay.

From one artillery mom to the Israel Defense Forces – I thank you….

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