Upon his return to Israel late Thursday, Olmert will be faced with an escalation in Arab violence against Israel.



Two more Kassam rockets landed Thursday inside the battered southern Israeli town of Sderot, where a prior rocket barreled into a children’s school earlier in the week. No injuries were reported in either incident.



Rocket fire continues daily from Gaza, following the unilateral evacuation of Jews from the region last August.



According to an IDF spokesman, Israel is responding to the missile barrage with artillery fire, directed at the northern Gaza launch sites. The IDF frequently responds with artillery, which has done little in recent months to halt the constant rocket attacks, as terrorists often fire the missiles from makeshift launch sites.



Terrorists attacked IDF positions along the new Gaza-Israel border twice Thursday morning. In addition, an IDF force operating near Jenin was met Wednesday night with gunfire. No injuries have been reported.



In overnight raids, the IDF arrested 11 wanted terrorists in Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of the Jewish regions Judea and Samaria. Members of the Islamic Jihad, Fatah and Hamas terror organizations were rounded up in and around the cities of Jenin, Shechem (commonly referred to in Arabic as Nablus), and Hevron.



On Wednesday, the IDF killed four terrorists in Ramallah after a fierce gun battle. The PA declared Thursday a day of mourning, when the funerals are expected to take place.