Gaza terrorists resumed firing rocket and mortar attacks at southern Israel on Sunday, ignoring the unilateral ceasefire declared by the Jewish State hours earlier, at 2:00 a.m. Twelve hours after the start of the ceasefire, some 15 rockets and mortars had been fired at Israeli civilians in the south and Israeli military forces had attacked the terror cells that launched them.
A short-range rocket stuck the Eshkol region at approximately 3:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon, landing in an open area. No one was injured and no damage was reported. The attack came one hour after Hamas terrorists allegedly announced their acceptance of the ceasefire. However, they continued to demand that the IDF withdraw all its forces from the region, which Israel is not likely to do in the near future.
Just before 2:30 p.m., two long-range Grad rockets exploded in the coastal cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon. In Ashdod, one person suffered light shrapnel wounds in the hand. The landing site in Ashkelon had not yet been located.
A Kassam rocket struck a kibbutz near Sha’ar HaNegev at around 1:30 p.m., but landed in an open area. No one was injured and no damage was reported.
At 1:00 p.m., two long-range Grad rockets slammed into the coastal city of Ashkelon, one landing close to a building in the city and damaging the structure. The other missile exploded on the outskirts of town. One woman was treated for severe emotional trauma.
A long-range rocket hit a massive chicken coop in a moshav near Kiryat Gat at around 11:45 a.m., killing at least 200 of the birds. Another chicken coop was also hit by mortar fire at around 9:30 a.m. in a kibbutz in the Sha'ar HaNegev region. Mortars also hit the Eshkol region at around the same time.
The terrorists began the morning's attacks with a Kassam barrage on Sderot, located less than a kilometer away from the security barrier. A volley of six of the short-range rockets exploded in the city at about 9:00 a.m. All of the missiles landed in open areas, and caused no injuries or damage.
Since the ceasefire went into effect, the IDF has also returned to the pinpoint attacks on rocket launchers and their operating terrorist cells that it conducted prior to Operation Cast Lead, as opposed to carrying out a full-scale military operation.
The IDF attacked the rocket launching squad that fired the rocket at Kiryat Gat, and confirmed a successful strike. According to the IDF Spokesperson, Israeli forces responded and eliminated two rocket launching squads.
Israel Air Force pilots struck the terrorist cell that launched the rocket attack on Sderot shortly after the morning’s initial attack. They confirmed hitting the operatives and eliminating the launchers.
Olmert: ‘We Reserve Right to Renew Operation’
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert responded to the renewed rocket fire by pointing out at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday morning that the ceasefire was extremely “fragile.” Olmert added that Israel reserved the right to renew full military operations in Gaza if the attacks do not stop.
"The decision leaves Israel with the freedom to respond and resume firing if our enemies, the various terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, continue their attacks," he said in a statement disseminated to the media following the meeting.
"This morning, some of them have continued shooting and have thereby proved what we warned of in advance – the ceasefire is fragile and must be reconsidered minute by minute, hour after hour. IDF forces are in the Gaza Strip and many other units, which are surrounding Gaza from all sides, are closely observing every corner and listening to every whisper, ready for any response that they might receive from their commanders if and when the violations continue, as they have this morning.
"We hope that the firing will stop, after we ourselves have halted firing, but if it continues, the IDF will respond. It is ready and deployed for this, in accordance with IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi's decision, which he made according to operational considerations. We will know how to act without hesitation if we must."
Olmert also thanked Likud chairman MK Binyamin Netanyahu, saying, “I would like to praise the opposition leader for supporting the government during the operation and explaining Israel’s position to the world.”
The Knesset has been called by Speaker Dalia Itzik into an emergency session for Sunday evening to discuss the ongoing fighting in Gaza.