Hundreds of children and their parents in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon demanded the government fortify their schools against rocket attacks from Gaza in demonstrations held Tuesday in two separate locations.
One group of protestors, which included the sixth graders from the Beit Yechezkel School, held a demonstration in front of the Ashkelon City Hall. The parents' committee said it would boycott classes because their children were unprotected against missile attacks.
Only 10 of the school's 700 students showed up for classes.
Several hundred students from the Ohr Menachem Chabad school system, as well as their parents, staged a prayer-and-protest rally in front of the old Ashkelon College building in the city's Atikot neighborhood. The protestors also said the children were forced to learn in a run-down building even though they had asked to use empty classrooms that are not being used by the college.
Gaza terrorists continued to launch mortar attacks against southern Israel on Tuesday morning. Three mortar shells were fired at the western Negev from northern Gaza, but only one actually made it past the security barrier, where it landed near the Kerem Shalom Crossing.
The other two shells landed on the Gaza side of the barrier. There were no casualties or damage reported in the mid-morning attack.
Just past midnight, two Kassam rockets were launched from Gaza towards the western Negev city of Sderot. Residents reported that they heard the explosions in the distance, but security personnel have reportedly been unable to locate the missiles.
According to the IDF spokesman, the rockets were launched from deep within Gaza. Of more concern is the fact that the 'Color Red' incoming rocket alert system was not activated.