Gaza terrorists resumed their rocket attacks on civilians in southern Israel bright and early Thursday morning even as IDF ground forces tightened the noose around Gaza City.
As of 11:00 a.m., when a one-sided four-hour IDF "humanitarian ceasefire" went into effect, approximately 20 rockets had struck southern Israel. The daily halt to IDF military operations in Gaza is meant to enable local residents to stock up on free supplies of food, medicines and other essentials provided by international humanitarian aid organizations.
Some 180 truckloads of humanitarian supplies are scheduled for delivery Thursday through the Kerem Shalom and Karni Crossings, according to IDF Major Peter Lerner, spokesman for Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). The government this week also began operating a live internet feed that enables viewers to watch the delivery of the supplies into the region from the convenience of their computer desktop.
Shortly after 10:00 a.m., a Kassam rocket landed in the Eshkol region, but exploded in an open area, causing no injuries or damage. Between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., a barrage of rockets struck a number of different areas, including Sderot, Ofakim and Hatzor.
A Kassam rocket hit a house in Sderot at around 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning in a rocket barrage that struck the Gaza Belt region. A number of people were treated at the scene by Magen David Adom medics for severe emotional trauma, but no one was physically wounded.
A News 10 reporter on the scene described the residents' escape from injury as "a miracle," adding that they had barely cleared the entrance to their bomb shelter before the missile hit the structure, severely damaging the house.
Four other rockets landed simultaneously in various other sites around the region, one landing right next to a school which was empty, due to cancellation of classes. The other missiles landed in open areas. There were no other reports of injuries or damage in any other area.
Two earlier volleys of Gaza terror rockets were fired bright and early Thursday morning, beginning with a long-range Grad missile barrage was launched at the Ofakim area at around 7:30 a.m. Two missiles landed in open areas around the town, located northwest of Be'er Sheva and directly east of Khan Younis in cenral Gaza.
Slightly earlier, a barrage of five short-range Kassam rockets was fired at various Jewish communities in the Eshkol region, located in the Gaza Belt.
All of the rockets landed in open areas, and there were no reports of injuries or damage.
The number of daily rocket attacks has dropped to 20 or less since the start of Operation Cast Lead, but Hamas is still estimated to possess at least several hundred more missiles.
One Grad-type Katyusha rocket hit the port city of Ashdod on Wednesday night, sending several people into severe emotional trauma but causing no physical injuries.
In Gaza, IDF ground troops continue to engage in heavy fighting in Gaza City neighborhoods. Soldiers killed 35 terrorists by sunrise Thursday. Navy gunboats and IAF fighter pilots provided cover for the ground troops and also hit several targets, including another mosque that was being used by terrorists as a weapons storage warehouse. The IDF also struck 50 smuggling tunnels, weapons depots and rocket launching sites.