The IDF pinpointed a rocket-launching cell and wounded at least one terrorist Saturday evening following another barrage by Gaza terrorists on Sderot and Ashkelon. An unconfirmed report stated that one terrorist in the cell was killed.
At least two rockets exploded in or close to the port city of Ashkelon Friday and Saturday. One additional rocket this past week hit a strategic site and caused damage. Ashkelon is home to a large electricity generating station and oil and gas pipelines.
Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorists claimed responsibility for the attacks on Ashkelon. "This shelling comes in response to the continued crimes and siege by the enemy," the PFLP said in a statement sent to the media. "The enemy's settlers are not immune as long as the Palestinian people are not."
Two rockets were fired at Sderot Saturday evening, both of them landing in open areas near the city, which has been under continuous attack for more than eight years except for several pauses.
The June 19 ceasefire, which was more virtual than real, has crumbled since November 4. Israeli military intelligence officers had discovered that Gaza-based terrorists were planning an imminent attack from a tunnel, with the objective of kidnapping soldiers.
The army staged a counterterrorist operation, in which the tunnel was destroyed and several terrorists were killed.
Gaza de facto prime minister Ismail Haniyeh has insisted that his terrorist organization is committed to it the ceasefire despite the resumption of daily attacks.
Israel has limited its retaliation to occasional strikes on rocket launching cells and has been relying on the closure of Gaza crossings, where shipments of humanitarian aid are occasionally approved. Gaza residents have accustomed themselves to receiving large supplies of food and merchandise via smuggling tunnels from Egypt.
Foreign news agencies have reported that Hamas uses the smuggling operations to control the distribution of goods and to profit from taxes on the merchandise.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni initiated a verbal counter-offensive on Thursday against international media and the United Nations Human Rights Commission, which have blamed Israel for the deteriorating situation in Gaza.
She "demanded that the international community stop applying a policy of ignoring acts of terror aimed at hurting innocent people." The Foreign Minister also was quoted as telling United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, "There is no way where the rocket fire against Israeli citizens can continue without retaliation from the Israeli government."