‘Together we will win’: Israelis fearful but defiant in face of uncertainty

Overwhelming response to call-up as country prepares for retaliation like never before' against Hamas

• Israel and Hamas at war - live updates

Avi Solomon cannot serve in Israel's armed forces because he is blind, but he has about 20 close relatives who have been called up to fight. They include four brothers and more than a dozen nephews and cousins, and he accepts that they may not all come back.

We feel like zombies anyway," said the 39 year-old, an athlete and supermarket worker. If we can't feel safe in our own houses, if we can't promise a future for our children, if any terrorist can come here and do the same thing to us, there is no point to be some kind of living dead."