Less than two weeks after Ashdod and Kiryat Malachi were told to prepare for rocket attacks from Gaza, residents of Be'er Sheva learned that they, too, can be hit by Hamas's missiles.
The information came by way of a leak from the government's weekly session, in which Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet) head Yuval Diskin said that Hamas's rockets could now reach the outskirts of Be'er Sheva, the "capital of the Negev". Security sources said that preparations are being made for the possibility that Yavneh and Gedera will also be targeted.
Diskin claimed that Hamas is interested in continuing the so-called "calm" with Israel but that its "military wing" is "prepared to continue the fight against Israel and has improved its abilities."
"As of today they have the ability to reach Kiryat Gat, Ashdod and even the outskirts of Be'er Sheva," he specified.
Gedera and Yavneh too
According to the Army Radio website, the security establishment has lately begun to prepare for the possibility that the Gaza terrorists could enlarge their rockets' range to 40 kilometers (26 miles). The Home Front Command is stepping up the process of renovating the existing siren systems in Gedera, Yavneh and Beer Sheva and other communities that could be attacked, and has begun installing additional siren systems.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in the discussion that it is possible that even three IDF divisions would not suffice for an operation to stop the rocket fire.
Diskin also discussed the tension between the Fatah and Hamas terror groups and said that unless a meaningful change occurs, there will soon be three states in the region: a Fatah state in Judea and Samaria, a Hamas state in Gaza and Israel.
He also said that Egypt has lost the trust of Hamas as a mediator with Israel.