The enemy in Gaza fired two rockets at the coastal city of Ashkelon Saturday night, causing the emergency sirens in the city to be sounded and sending tens of thousands of people into shelters and "protected spaces." No one was hurt in the attack. One of the rockets exploded near a factory in Ashkelon's southern industrial area. IDF Radio said the rockets were of the "Grad" type.
The last time terrorist rockets exploded within Ashkelon was on March 3, just over a month ago. On that date, Gaza terrorists fired two medium-range "Grad" rockets at the city. One hit a seven story building, lightly injuring one person, and the other exploded in a playground. 16 people were treated for emotional shock.
For a week, Ashkelon was on elevated alert, public shelters were opened and the municipality staffed a 24 hour situation room.
'We have no way of preventing it'
A few days after the attack, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited the city and told residents that they had better get used to the presence of rockets in their lives. "We have no way of preventing these things from happening again," he said in a meeting with the Ashkelon town council. "Do not expect this to be one-time experience," he added. "This is the Israeli reality for 60 years. It requires strength and restraint," he added.
When local residents told his they would not agree to become "another Sderot," Olmert brushed the criticism aside, saying: "There is no point in comparing [the situation] to Sderot and other places. Sderot's residents have been dealing with this for years. It's true a Grad is heavier than a Kassam but we have no way of preventing these things from happening again. We have to deal with them."
Grad rockets came from Iran
At the time, Ashkelon mayor Ronny Mahatzri accused Olmert angrily of shirking responsibility for the situation. "The government is telling 250,000 residents of the south – 'from now on this is your life,'" he said.
On the day before the March 3 attack, rockets fired on Ashkelon narrowly missed a nursery for children under the age of 3. The nursery teacher told Voice of Israel government radio that the children were in the middle of eating breakfast when she heard the Color Red alert. The children's teachers managed to take them to a bomb shelter. No one was injured, but they had to calm down the children. A day earlier, four people were injured – two moderately and two lightly – in another rocket attack. One of the rockets exploded in close proximity to the home of Public Security Minister Avi Dichter.
Security officials later told the Security Cabinet that the Grad rockets used to attack Ashkelon came from Iran. They estimated that Hamas and other terrorists have smuggled approximately 20 Grad rockets into Gaza but added that the Air Force has bombed out the largest explosives laboratory in the Gaza region.