Two young girls were hit by shrapnel Wednesday afternoon when a Kassam rocket slammed into a playground in Kibbutz Be'eri, located in the Eshkol Regional Council. Both were lightly wounded and their mother suffered emotional shock.
Two-year-old Techelet was struck in the leg; her 12-year-old sister Yardena was hit in the shoulder. Paramedics removed a piece of shrapnel from the body of one of the girls before sending them both to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva.
The children's mother, Gladys Za'arur-Fishbein, said there was no warning before the attack. "There were times in the past when we heard the Color Red alert system and then raced for cover," she said, "but this time the rocket fell without warning; it just exploded before my eyes."
The Hamas terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack.
Within the hour, another attack was fired from Gaza, this time at Sderot, scoring a direct hit on a house. Miraculously, no one was physically injured, although a number of people suffered emotional shock. The house sustained heavy damage.
The Popular Resistance Committees, a terrorist umbrella organization, claimed responsibility for the attack on Sderot.
The first rockets were raining down by 7:30 a.m., with a barrage exploding within the territory of the Eshkol Regional Council. All of the missiles landed in open areas. No one was hurt and no damage was reported.
Less than two hours later, another attack sent a Kassam whistling into a community near Sderot. This missile also exploded in an open area, with no injuries or damage reported.
The coastal city of Ashkelon, home to several strategic facilities, was the recipient of the third attack of the day, with rockets exploding at the southern edge of the city. No one was hurt and no damage was reported.
Government spokesman Mark Regev said, "These rockets are being fired indiscriminately into civilian population centers. We are obligated as a government to take the necessary steps to protect our people and we will continue to do so. The extremists shooting rockets are a legitimate target and we will act surgically to strike against hardcore terrorist cells."
Gaza officials cancelled a session of the Hamas legislature, fearing retaliation by Israel.
Israel Air Force fighter jets struck several targets in Gaza overnight in response to attacks on the western Negev Tuesday that wounded six civilians and knocked out power in Sderot. Hamas reported that four of its operatives were moderately wounded.
"We need to understand there is a war in the south," Vice Premier Chaim Ramon said in an interview with Voice of Israel government radio, echoing oft-repeated remarks by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other top officials.
"The war against Hamas has to be fought on all fronts," he said, adding that Israel would continue to use "the economic weapon" as well. The comment was a reference to the blockade imposed by Israel three weeks ago. All crossings remain sealed.