One of the rockets hit a building in the southern Ashkelon industrial area, damaging the building, but failing to injure anybody.
"The phenomenon of Kassam rocket fire has significantly expanded since the unilateral withdrawal," said Likud MK Gilad Erdan, in response to the attack. "Anyone who is considering supporting Olmert's unilateral surrender policy this Tuesday - to withdraw from most of Judea and Samaria - needs to take into consideration that what is happening in Ashkelon now will occur at Ben Gurion Airport and in additional cities along the coastal plain."
Friday night, IDF artillery forces shelled launching areas in northern Gaza – usually open fields. That shelling was in response to two rockets fired on Friday, in which no damage or injuries were reported.
Speaking at Bar Ilan University on Friday, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said that continued launching of Kassam rockets on Israel's civilian population would not cause him to recommend that fire be returned toward populated PA-controlled Arab areas. "We will find a full answer to the Kassams," Halutz assured the students present, "without crossing lines."
Asked why the IDF has not put an end of the rocket fire up to now, Halutz answered: "Life is about choosing between alternatives. There are those who will say 'let us conquer the Gaza Strip anew,' because that is one of the ways to combat the threat. I always remind them that we were in the Strip until eight months ago, and even when we were there we did not succeed in fully addressing every Kassam. This is because we behave as a civilized country and don't rush to cross lines in our operational activities."
"According to how things look now, we still hold in our hands a wide array of capabilities and measures and I hope we will succeed in decreasing this threat to the minimum – but not completely. In the end an answer will be given to the Kassam," Halutz pledged.
Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz ordered the heads of Israel's security forces to go on high alert in order to ensure than no terror attacks interfere with Israel's elections.