A third rocket attack launched at southern Israel from Gaza Monday evening exploded in the town of Sderot. The short-range Qassam rocket landed in an open area of the town, about 15 seconds after the Color Red incoming missile alert system was activated.
No one was physically injured, although a number of residents who suffer from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) had trauma symptoms re-triggered by the attack. No property damage was reported, authorities said.
The attack marked the third such rocket launch aimed at southern Israel on Monday alone. An earlier attack targeted the Ashkelon coastal region. IAF pilots struck a terrorist cell just as they were preparing to launch another rocket attack at civilian targets in southern Israel, also on Monday night.
The attacks coincided with the visit of Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of the founder of the Hamas terrorist organization that currently rules the Gaza region, who is currently in Israel as a guest of Deputy Minister Ayoub Kara. Yousef addressed a special gathering of Israel's Knesset earlier Monday.
The younger Yousef decided while in an Israeli prison more than a decade ago that he had had enough of watching Arabs slaughter and mistreat other Arabs. Instead, he agreed to work as an undercover agent for the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), code name “The Green Prince.”
After 10 years, Yousef subsequently left government service, converted to Christianity and moved to the United States to begin a new life. His story became public when he published his book, “Son of Hamas,” a tome that prompted his family to disown him.