Thursday marks yet another day of Kassam rockets and mortar shells in Sderot and the western Negev. After more than 40 over the course of Wednesday, and at least a similar number the day before, children on their way to school and nursery in Sderot were alerted to the start of the latest attacks when nearly a dozen rained down upon them. Shortly afterwards, yet another nine rockets slammed into the city.
One of the latest Kassams - an improved version - hit a house in Sderot, and one woman was wounded from shrapnel. She was taken to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon for treatment, and is listed in light condition. Six other people were treated for shock.
Rockets over the past two days have targeted Ashkelon, Sderot, kibbutzim in the western Negev, and more.
The IDF responded on Thursday with an attack on two Kassam-launching terrorist cells in Gaza. The forces reported that the targets had been hit, but it is not yet known if the terrorists were killed.
On Wednesday, Israel Air Force pilots killed five Palestinian Authority (PA) terrorists in Gaza on Wednesday. PA sources said two members of the Popular Resistance Committees' Salah al-Din Brigades gang were killed in one strike as they were riding in a vehicle in central Gaza.
IDF forces killed three other terrorists as their vehicle drove near al-Bureij in Gaza. The affiliation of the terrorists was unknown.
Government officials made efforts to assure the Israeli public that steps are being taken to stop the incessant Kassam rocket attacks. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, currently on an official visit to Moscow, said there, "Israel is obligated to its citizens, and must provide an answer to the daily attacks from Gaza. The answer is via an uncompromising war against Gazan terrorism - and not just by dialogue and negotiations."
Defense Minister Ehud Barak told reporters Wednesday evening that the IDF will increase its operations in Gaza in response to the escalation in rocket attacks. "We increased, and will increase, the pressure and the targeted operations against terrorists," he said. "This isn't simple, but we are doing the maximum to hit terror operatives in order to stop the Kassam attacks."
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said earlier in an interview on Army Radio that the IDF is ready to expand military operations in Gaza. "The IDF's best fighters and commanders are fighting now in Gaza to reduce the rocket attacks," he said.
Later in the day he told newly-graduated naval officers that "recent events in the south demonstrate that for many years we will need to continue to invest our best resources into strengthening the IDF as… a guarantee for the defense of the existence and security of the State of Israel."
Gaza Terrorist Siege on the Western Negev
Of the more than 40 mortar shells and Kassam rockets fired at Israel Wednesday, two shells hit open fields in a kibbutz in the evening hours; no one was hurt and no damage was reported.
Six Kassams landed in open areas in Eshkol Regional Council areas. Several people were treated for shock after a mortar shell hit a house in one of the kibbutzim in the region.
One rocket exploded in Sderot, another landed at the edge of town, and a third slammed into the industrial zone in the coastal city of Ashkelon, way north of Gaza. Two other rockets landed in open areas just south of Ashkelon. On Tuesday, a rocket exploded in a tennis court in Ashkelon.
Early Wednesday, one person was lightly injured after being hit by a shockwave from one of the rockets, and four others were treated for shock. Three mortar shells were fired toward mid-afternoon, two landing near the Gaza security fence and one hitting a security fence surrounding a nearby Jewish community. No injuries were reported in those attacks.