"The fact that you don't know if the missiles are about to fall on you, that we are now living with this feeling of helplessness, it's insane," said Ella Keren, a nurse who was with her two young daughters at a Tel Aviv playground.
The controllers didn't just walk off the job; they were traumatized. Their equipment failed. It's written in the regulations that if they experience a traumatic event, they can take time off to go see a psychiatrist.
"The most poignant feature is an agonizing doubt about their continued ability to love others, and to accept affection. One veteran said: 'I hope I can learn to love as much as I learned to hate'..."
Those who survive shelling often imitate the sounds of explosions when they talk about the experience. I instantly think of this when an early morning roll call of how are you? starts in the friends' group chat.
