Sderot, a small city in the western Negev, was hit by a Kassam rocket shortly before noon today. No one was hurt, though the rocket landed next to the "Yesodei HaTorah" elementary school where children were playing. Over 15 Kassam rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Sderot in the past 18 months; in one incident, a baby and two children were hurt. In April of 2001, after the first shells hit Sderot, the IDF retaliated sharply with an air and ground forces attack of several Palestinian Authority targets in Gaza. Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer's office announced at the time that the Palestinian rockets were "intolerable," and that the IDF action was taken "in order to clarify to the Palestinians that the State of Israel will not accept this type of incident."
Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal says that his town has "become Kiryat Shmonah" - the northern city that was hit by many katyusha rockets.
Arabs fired mortar shells at Gush Katif communities last night and this morning; no one was hurt and no damage was caused. An estimated 2,000 rockets and shells have been fired at Jewish communities in the area in the past two year, killing a soldier and injuring a few residents.
Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal says that his town has "become Kiryat Shmonah" - the northern city that was hit by many katyusha rockets.
Arabs fired mortar shells at Gush Katif communities last night and this morning; no one was hurt and no damage was caused. An estimated 2,000 rockets and shells have been fired at Jewish communities in the area in the past two year, killing a soldier and injuring a few residents.