Israeli children in a bomb shelter. Photo: IDF.

The children of southern Israel — who have long had to deal with the fear of rocket and mortar attacks from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as well as underground terror tunnels — are now dealing with a new source of anxiety, the Hebrew news site Walla reported.

While Gaza has been relatively quiet since Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, an increasing amount of area youngsters have recently been showing signs of anxiety brought on by the sounds of fighting they hear from across the border in the Sinai Peninsula — where Egyptian military forces are battling against ISIS-affiliated militants.

According to data gathered by the Eshkol Regional Council, there has been a 50% increase in the number of Israeli children suffering from trauma due to the explosions echoing from nearby Sinai.

The anxiety felt by these children is manifested by — among other things — sleep issues and fear of being alone.

Gadi Yarkoni — the current head of the Eshkol Regional Council who was severely wounded in a mortar attack on the last day of the 2014 Gaza war — told Walla that the matter was being handled by local health and education professionals.