"We will not accept this massive shelling, just as we do not accept the firing of Kassam rockets near Sderot," army sources said Saturday. The declaration came after weeks of protests from Gush Katif residents. The residents decried the army's limited response to the daily shelling of Gaza's Jewish communities, in contrast swift response to rockets fired on Sderot, a city within Israel's pre-1967 borders.
IDF troops, in the first substantial response to the mortar shells in several weeks, approached Khan Yunis, a city of 250,000 that borders most of the Jewish towns in the area. The troops limited their actions, however, to taking up positions around the city and shooting into areas from where mortars were being fired.
"This is a total failure of the army to defend the lives of residents and soldiers," said Eran Steinberg, spokesman for the Gush Katif Regional Council based in Neve Dekalim.
Arab terrorists fired more than eight mortars during the 20-minute bombardment Friday afternoon, seriously injuring a child in Neve Dekalim, the largest Jewish town in Gush Katif. Rescue personnel rushed the child to Be'er Sheva's Soroka hospital. "He was lying in bed when the shell hit," the boys's fathers said. "He was injured from the fragments, one of which apparently struck his lungs." The father decried the lack of IDF response to the constant barrage of mortar shells. "Jewish children are being abandoned because the army is afraid to act," he said.
The explosions also injured an 18-year-old Belgian yeshiva student who was visiting friends. "I came to Gush Katif with friends to distribute doughnuts (for the holiday of Chanukah) to soldiers," he said. "I have visited the Gush several times, but this is the first time I have experienced this….I didn't believe I would end up the day in the hospital."
Also treated in the hospital was 26-year-old Moriah Schwartz of Neve Dekalim who was injured from fragments that hit her shoulder. "I cannot say I am not afraid; I am afraid a lot, but I am not afraid to return to the community and live there because this is my home."
IDF troops, in the first substantial response to the mortar shells in several weeks, approached Khan Yunis, a city of 250,000 that borders most of the Jewish towns in the area. The troops limited their actions, however, to taking up positions around the city and shooting into areas from where mortars were being fired.
"This is a total failure of the army to defend the lives of residents and soldiers," said Eran Steinberg, spokesman for the Gush Katif Regional Council based in Neve Dekalim.
Arab terrorists fired more than eight mortars during the 20-minute bombardment Friday afternoon, seriously injuring a child in Neve Dekalim, the largest Jewish town in Gush Katif. Rescue personnel rushed the child to Be'er Sheva's Soroka hospital. "He was lying in bed when the shell hit," the boys's fathers said. "He was injured from the fragments, one of which apparently struck his lungs." The father decried the lack of IDF response to the constant barrage of mortar shells. "Jewish children are being abandoned because the army is afraid to act," he said.
The explosions also injured an 18-year-old Belgian yeshiva student who was visiting friends. "I came to Gush Katif with friends to distribute doughnuts (for the holiday of Chanukah) to soldiers," he said. "I have visited the Gush several times, but this is the first time I have experienced this….I didn't believe I would end up the day in the hospital."
Also treated in the hospital was 26-year-old Moriah Schwartz of Neve Dekalim who was injured from fragments that hit her shoulder. "I cannot say I am not afraid; I am afraid a lot, but I am not afraid to return to the community and live there because this is my home."