JAFFA, Israel — In my corner of south Jaffa, it didn’t start with the Iranian missiles. It started with gun shots, from a machine gun probably. A round of about 30 shots fired into the night, at what felt like the corner of my street.

I drew the blinds. It’s normal to hear gun shots in Jaffa. The local bike store owner was shot in the leg; the window at the nearby meat shop was shot out eight months ago. My friend’s good friend was shot in the arm by a hitman’s stray bullet. Rival gangs settling scores, but stay out of their business and they will stay out of yours.