Six rockets were fired at Sderot and other areas in the Western Negev on Thursday, causing both injuries and damage in the attacks.
One rocket landed near the entrance to Sderot. Two rockets landed near the home of Defense Minister Amir Peretz and a tent where protesters are continuing a hunger strike to call attention to the inability of the government to protect their community. Two of the protestors fainted and were treated at the scene.
A fourth landed in the industrial zone, slamming into the “Universe” factory where one man suffered shrapnel wounds to his eyes. The roof of the factory collapsed after sustaining the direct hit. Another Kassam sparked a forest fire outside Sderot after landing in a wooded area. Fire Chief David Sitrit told the Ynet news service a similar problem was averted at the factory, which manufactures platforms made of wood.
A sixth rocket landed in an open area near Kibbutz Zikkim. No injuries and no damage reported. Terrorist organization Islamic Jihad claimed it launched the rocket. The Al-Aksa Martyrs’ Brigades terror group also took responsibility for part of the day’s Kassam attacks and said they had fired one at Nahal Oz.
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger visited Sderot and spoke with the hunger strikers Thursday afternoon, requesting that they stop their strike during the Sabbath. Strikers rejected the request, however. Israel Radio reported that they insisted on continuing until senior government officials come to tell them they will fight the attacks relentlessly. The strikers told Israel Radio Thursday afternoon they are fed up with inaction by Peretz.
Five National Union/National Religious Party Knesset members were present at the time of the attack. The politicians were visiting the city in a show of solidarity.
NU/NRP Knesset member Aryeh Eldad spoke with Army Radio while visiting the hunger strikers. “The voices heard here are horrible,” he told listeners. “People are saying ‘We want to escape this place. It is no longer settlements; it is not only outside the Green Line anymore. It’s Israel,’ he said. “People are saying, ‘The state can’t protect us anymore.’”
One woman said, "I am fed up sleeping with my seven and a half year old every night. A Kassam rocket fell this morning and he was in hysteria for 15 minutes. My sisters are afraid to visit me here. We don't sleep, so why should Beit Hanoun sleep?" Beit Hanoun, an Arab city in northern Gaza, is the source of most of the rocket fire. The city is located approximately one mile away from Sderot.
The trauma suffered by Sderot residents is reminiscent of that experienced by Gush Katif residents prior to their expulsion by the Israeli government from their homes last summer. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon assured Israelis at the time that the pullout would enable the IDF to defend southern communities more effectively.
Meanwhile, Peretz ordered security officials on Thursday to prepare to evacuate more Yesha outposts within the next two weeks. Outposts where violence is expected will be the first to go, he added.
One rocket landed near the entrance to Sderot. Two rockets landed near the home of Defense Minister Amir Peretz and a tent where protesters are continuing a hunger strike to call attention to the inability of the government to protect their community. Two of the protestors fainted and were treated at the scene.
A fourth landed in the industrial zone, slamming into the “Universe” factory where one man suffered shrapnel wounds to his eyes. The roof of the factory collapsed after sustaining the direct hit. Another Kassam sparked a forest fire outside Sderot after landing in a wooded area. Fire Chief David Sitrit told the Ynet news service a similar problem was averted at the factory, which manufactures platforms made of wood.
A sixth rocket landed in an open area near Kibbutz Zikkim. No injuries and no damage reported. Terrorist organization Islamic Jihad claimed it launched the rocket. The Al-Aksa Martyrs’ Brigades terror group also took responsibility for part of the day’s Kassam attacks and said they had fired one at Nahal Oz.
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger visited Sderot and spoke with the hunger strikers Thursday afternoon, requesting that they stop their strike during the Sabbath. Strikers rejected the request, however. Israel Radio reported that they insisted on continuing until senior government officials come to tell them they will fight the attacks relentlessly. The strikers told Israel Radio Thursday afternoon they are fed up with inaction by Peretz.
Five National Union/National Religious Party Knesset members were present at the time of the attack. The politicians were visiting the city in a show of solidarity.
NU/NRP Knesset member Aryeh Eldad spoke with Army Radio while visiting the hunger strikers. “The voices heard here are horrible,” he told listeners. “People are saying ‘We want to escape this place. It is no longer settlements; it is not only outside the Green Line anymore. It’s Israel,’ he said. “People are saying, ‘The state can’t protect us anymore.’”
One woman said, "I am fed up sleeping with my seven and a half year old every night. A Kassam rocket fell this morning and he was in hysteria for 15 minutes. My sisters are afraid to visit me here. We don't sleep, so why should Beit Hanoun sleep?" Beit Hanoun, an Arab city in northern Gaza, is the source of most of the rocket fire. The city is located approximately one mile away from Sderot.
The trauma suffered by Sderot residents is reminiscent of that experienced by Gush Katif residents prior to their expulsion by the Israeli government from their homes last summer. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon assured Israelis at the time that the pullout would enable the IDF to defend southern communities more effectively.
Meanwhile, Peretz ordered security officials on Thursday to prepare to evacuate more Yesha outposts within the next two weeks. Outposts where violence is expected will be the first to go, he added.