Two teachers in the elementary school that was bombarded went into shock. Following the attack, Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal closed all of the town's schools.
In an interview with Arutz Sheva last week, he called to turn the Gaza Strip into a ghost town. Several citizens began a hunger strike in Sderot across from the home of Defense Minister Amir Peretz (Labor).
Another rocket fired by Gaza-based terrorists hit a building in the Ashkelon industrial zone causing damages to several structures. Yet another Kassam exploded in a populated area south of Sderot.
Since Friday afternoon, Arabs fired 31 rockets at Israeli targets. The IDF responded on Friday with fierce artillery fire on sand dunes. The IDF explained that it was shelling the Arabs' rocket launching sites.
On Saturday too, Palestinian Authority terrorists from the governing Hamas organization launched a barrage of rockets from Gaza at Israeli civilian and military targets. No injuries were reported.
One of the rockets over the weekend targeting Sderot landed in an empty field inside the city; two others slammed into area kibbutzes. In addition, Saturday saw Arab attackers fire at least 10 mortars at the Gaza Strip perimeter fence.
The attacks continue well into Saturday night, with more IDF artillery retaliating against what are believed to be rocket-launching sites in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas spokesmen claimed responsibility for the rocket barrage, saying it was reprisal for the IDF shelling of rocket launching sites Friday afternoon in which seven people, including two small children, were killed. Defense Minister Amir Peretz expressed "deep regret" over the incident, but the IDF commander responsible for the Gaza area said Saturday night that Arab mortar shells or rockets may have killed the seven victims.
The head of the Southern Command, Aviv Kochavi, said through a spokesman, "I cannot say what caused this incident. We have fired thousands of shells in the past and this has never happened before. We are investigating at this time but it seems that neither Air nor Naval means were the cause. We fired towards open areas ...and towards the ruins of Dugit, an area which is routinely used for rocket launching. The Palestinian population was warned to steer clear of this area. If as a result of our activity innocent Palestinians were hurt, I'm sorry for it."
About 150 far-left protesters demonstrated outside the home of IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz Saturday, calling for him and Defense Minister Peretz to be brought to trial at the Hague as a result of their efforts to fight the terrorist onslaught.
On Friday Hamas spokesmen threatened Israel with an "earthquake" and formally ended its self-declared "period of calm". Hamas and other terrorist gangs agreed among themselves to a "calm" in the violence 16 months ago, but they never honored their agreement for more than a few weeks at a time. Last week, Israel revealed that regardless of what Hamas was publicly saying, the organization - which rules the government of the Palestinian Authority - has been involved in repeated Kassam attacks on Israel.
Due to increasingly threatening rhetoric from the Palestinian Authority, police have raised the terror threat alert level. More than 90 general intelligence warnings of terrorist attacks have been recorded since Thursday. Chief of Police Moshe Karadi has ordered increased awareness and reinforced security around Jerusalem and along the areas bordering the PA. On Sunday, the police will raise the alert to its highest level, reinforcing security in public areas, in the city centers, at bus stations, around schools and on the beaches.
In an interview with Arutz Sheva last week, he called to turn the Gaza Strip into a ghost town. Several citizens began a hunger strike in Sderot across from the home of Defense Minister Amir Peretz (Labor).
Another rocket fired by Gaza-based terrorists hit a building in the Ashkelon industrial zone causing damages to several structures. Yet another Kassam exploded in a populated area south of Sderot.
Since Friday afternoon, Arabs fired 31 rockets at Israeli targets. The IDF responded on Friday with fierce artillery fire on sand dunes. The IDF explained that it was shelling the Arabs' rocket launching sites.
On Saturday too, Palestinian Authority terrorists from the governing Hamas organization launched a barrage of rockets from Gaza at Israeli civilian and military targets. No injuries were reported.
One of the rockets over the weekend targeting Sderot landed in an empty field inside the city; two others slammed into area kibbutzes. In addition, Saturday saw Arab attackers fire at least 10 mortars at the Gaza Strip perimeter fence.
The attacks continue well into Saturday night, with more IDF artillery retaliating against what are believed to be rocket-launching sites in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas spokesmen claimed responsibility for the rocket barrage, saying it was reprisal for the IDF shelling of rocket launching sites Friday afternoon in which seven people, including two small children, were killed. Defense Minister Amir Peretz expressed "deep regret" over the incident, but the IDF commander responsible for the Gaza area said Saturday night that Arab mortar shells or rockets may have killed the seven victims.
The head of the Southern Command, Aviv Kochavi, said through a spokesman, "I cannot say what caused this incident. We have fired thousands of shells in the past and this has never happened before. We are investigating at this time but it seems that neither Air nor Naval means were the cause. We fired towards open areas ...and towards the ruins of Dugit, an area which is routinely used for rocket launching. The Palestinian population was warned to steer clear of this area. If as a result of our activity innocent Palestinians were hurt, I'm sorry for it."
About 150 far-left protesters demonstrated outside the home of IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz Saturday, calling for him and Defense Minister Peretz to be brought to trial at the Hague as a result of their efforts to fight the terrorist onslaught.
On Friday Hamas spokesmen threatened Israel with an "earthquake" and formally ended its self-declared "period of calm". Hamas and other terrorist gangs agreed among themselves to a "calm" in the violence 16 months ago, but they never honored their agreement for more than a few weeks at a time. Last week, Israel revealed that regardless of what Hamas was publicly saying, the organization - which rules the government of the Palestinian Authority - has been involved in repeated Kassam attacks on Israel.
Due to increasingly threatening rhetoric from the Palestinian Authority, police have raised the terror threat alert level. More than 90 general intelligence warnings of terrorist attacks have been recorded since Thursday. Chief of Police Moshe Karadi has ordered increased awareness and reinforced security around Jerusalem and along the areas bordering the PA. On Sunday, the police will raise the alert to its highest level, reinforcing security in public areas, in the city centers, at bus stations, around schools and on the beaches.