Two dozen mortar rounds fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory early Tuesday morning failed to cause any damage or injuries, but two shells that exploded inside communities – one near a kindergarten – shook up the residents of virtually every Israeli town within range of Gaza-based rocket fire. Making matters worse is the time spent in bomb shelters when the siren sounds, signaling the unsettling and disruptive experience even if live rounds do not hit any particular location. Also ominous was the army report that most incoming rounds were intercepted by the Iron Dome system since only inbounds that are on line to hit something are actually destroyed by the defense system; those that are on a trajectory to miss completely are allowed to fall harmlessly into open spaces. The message, then, to those sitting in the shelters is that but for Iron Dome there might have been bloodshed and chaos. Prior to the mortar rounds, automatic weapons fired at cars on the Israeli side of the border.