In the first barrage, two of the rockets slammed into the downtown area near the home of Defense Minister Amir Peretz, killing 57-year-old Fa'ina Slutzker. A 24-year old security guard, Maor Peretz, lost both his legs in the blast as he stood guard outside Peretz’s home. Six other people were treated for shock. Slutzker was laid to rest in the late afternoon, leaving behind a husband and two sons.
An hour later, a second attack launched from northern Gaza scored another hit in the city. No one was injured in the attack and no damage was reported, but residents were again traumatized by the unending attacks on their community.
The third attack, which occurred Wednesday evening, left a 17-year-old boy with serious stomach wounds. Two other youths suffered light injuries from flying shrapnel, and another was treated for shock.
Another Kassam hit the city late Wednesday night. No one was injured and no damage was reported.
Four other rockets slammed into the coastal city of Ashkelon during the day, landing in open areas in the southern section of the city. Mayor Ronny Mahatzri said in an interview with the Ynet news service, “It is time for the State of Israel to wake up and act in a determined manner to stop these terror attacks from Gaza, with all the means it has at its disposal --- artillery attacks, aerial and land.”
Nearly 1,700 rockets have been fired at Sderot since 23 Jewish communities were expelled from the Gush Katif area in Gaza some 15 months ago.
‘We Will Take Action’, Promises Peretz
The Defense Minister called an emergency meeting of security officials Wednesday afternoon to discuss how best to respond to the attacks. “We will take action …,“ said Peretz, “from the terror chiefs to the last of the terror operatives. The terror organizations will pay a heavy price,” he vowed.
OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yoav Gallant toured Sderot with Mayor Eli Moyal after the first attack of the morning. He also vowed retaliation. “We will get those responsible for the attacks in the ways we know how,” he told reporters.
Both the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations claimed responsibility for the deadly attack which they said was to avenge the deaths of 19 civilians who were accidentally killed in an IDF operation in Beit Hanoun.
Peres’ Remarks on Sderot Return to Haunt Him
Less than a year after the expulsion Vice Premier Shimon Peres expressed disdain for Sderot residents’ increasing protests over the government’s sluggish response to the unending rocket attacks on their city.
In remarks on June 20th, five days before IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in a cross-border raid at the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza, Peres sought to minimize the emotional impact of the attacks on Sderot.
“What’s the big deal?” he said. “Kiryat Shmonah was shelled for years.” Peres advised Sderot residents to tell the terrorists, “Kassams, shmassams, we’re not leaving.”
Some five weeks after he made those remarks, Kiryat Shmonah was once again hit with Katyusha rockets after Hizbullah terrorists kidnapped two IDF soldiers on Israel’s northern border, reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.
The abduction, which set off a second war with Lebanon, also resulted in hundreds of missiles slamming into Kiryat Shmonah. Almost three-quarters of the town's residents fled the city, with the blessing of its mayor, after weeks of living in bomb shelters that were designed to hold fewer people for a much shorter period of time.
As regards the constant barrage of rocket attacks that have been raining down on Sderot for years, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz was not optimistic about the government’s ability to end the assault any time soon.
“I don’t see an end in the near future,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “There is no doubt that terrorism, especially in the Gaza Strip, is growing stronger. This increase in strength is being accompanied by improved weaponry.” Halutz added that the IDF has not ruled out the possibility of wide-scale operations to deal with the escalating threat from Gaza.
An hour later, a second attack launched from northern Gaza scored another hit in the city. No one was injured in the attack and no damage was reported, but residents were again traumatized by the unending attacks on their community.
The third attack, which occurred Wednesday evening, left a 17-year-old boy with serious stomach wounds. Two other youths suffered light injuries from flying shrapnel, and another was treated for shock.
Another Kassam hit the city late Wednesday night. No one was injured and no damage was reported.
Four other rockets slammed into the coastal city of Ashkelon during the day, landing in open areas in the southern section of the city. Mayor Ronny Mahatzri said in an interview with the Ynet news service, “It is time for the State of Israel to wake up and act in a determined manner to stop these terror attacks from Gaza, with all the means it has at its disposal --- artillery attacks, aerial and land.”
Nearly 1,700 rockets have been fired at Sderot since 23 Jewish communities were expelled from the Gush Katif area in Gaza some 15 months ago.
‘We Will Take Action’, Promises Peretz
The Defense Minister called an emergency meeting of security officials Wednesday afternoon to discuss how best to respond to the attacks. “We will take action …,“ said Peretz, “from the terror chiefs to the last of the terror operatives. The terror organizations will pay a heavy price,” he vowed.
OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yoav Gallant toured Sderot with Mayor Eli Moyal after the first attack of the morning. He also vowed retaliation. “We will get those responsible for the attacks in the ways we know how,” he told reporters.
Both the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations claimed responsibility for the deadly attack which they said was to avenge the deaths of 19 civilians who were accidentally killed in an IDF operation in Beit Hanoun.
Peres’ Remarks on Sderot Return to Haunt Him
Less than a year after the expulsion Vice Premier Shimon Peres expressed disdain for Sderot residents’ increasing protests over the government’s sluggish response to the unending rocket attacks on their city.
In remarks on June 20th, five days before IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in a cross-border raid at the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza, Peres sought to minimize the emotional impact of the attacks on Sderot.
“What’s the big deal?” he said. “Kiryat Shmonah was shelled for years.” Peres advised Sderot residents to tell the terrorists, “Kassams, shmassams, we’re not leaving.”
Some five weeks after he made those remarks, Kiryat Shmonah was once again hit with Katyusha rockets after Hizbullah terrorists kidnapped two IDF soldiers on Israel’s northern border, reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.
The abduction, which set off a second war with Lebanon, also resulted in hundreds of missiles slamming into Kiryat Shmonah. Almost three-quarters of the town's residents fled the city, with the blessing of its mayor, after weeks of living in bomb shelters that were designed to hold fewer people for a much shorter period of time.
As regards the constant barrage of rocket attacks that have been raining down on Sderot for years, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz was not optimistic about the government’s ability to end the assault any time soon.
“I don’t see an end in the near future,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “There is no doubt that terrorism, especially in the Gaza Strip, is growing stronger. This increase in strength is being accompanied by improved weaponry.” Halutz added that the IDF has not ruled out the possibility of wide-scale operations to deal with the escalating threat from Gaza.