Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi criticized the reported ceasefire between Israel and Hamas Friday and demanded a large-scale military operation against Hamas in Gaza.
"I understand the desire to reach negotiations, but in my opinion the cease-fire is a mistake. We will have to reach an operation, to eradicate this terror. The intermittent war is unhealthy for us and not good for the State of Israel," Davidi said.
Gadi Yarkoni, head of the Eshkol Regional Council, expressed the hope that any peace agreement with the Gaza Strip would include economic support for the communities surrounding the Gaza Strip. "An ongoing reality of four months of security tension reached an extreme point yesterday. We went through a day of heavy barrage of fire to our communities and canceled educational activities and cultural and community events."
"In the past few hours there has been quiet and we hope that the latest tension has been 'the storm before the calm', after which there will be an arrangement that will ensure long-term calm," Yarkoni said.
"The events of recent months and the sharp transition from routine to emergency have a significant impact on the residents of the Gaza periphery. We expect the government that any economic and political peace arrangement that is being formulated with the Gaza Strip will also include an economic arrangement and significant investment in the surrounding communities. An investment that will enable us to continue the development and strengthen the settlement alongside the border," Yarkoni added.
About 200 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel by terrorists in the Gaza Strip Wednesday night and Thursday, including many the struck Sderot.
The Al Jazeera network reported on Thursday evening that an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire had been reached between Hamas and Israel and added that it came into effect at 10:45 p.m. The quiet appeared to be holding Friday morning.