Four Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza toward the western Negev area Friday.
The latest attack took place Friday evening, after another rocket fired at Israel was detected by the "Red Dawn" alert system around 9:30 p.m. The Qassam apparently landed in open areas. No injuries were reported in the attack.
Later, the IDF fired shells at Qassam launching sites in the northern Gaza Strip.
Earlier, two rockets landed at around 5 a.m. in an open field near Kibbutz Zikim. A man working in the area was treated for shock caused by the explosion, but no injuries or damage were reported. The landing site of the second Qassam has not yet been found.
At noon another Qassam was fired from north Gaza and reportedly landed near Yad Mordechai; no injuries or damage were reported in the attack. Security forces are still searching for the exact landing site; it is estimated that the rocket landed in agricultural fields in the area.
Artillery response
IDF forces continued firing artillery shells toward northern Gaza on Friday in an effort to halt the continued Qassam fire toward Sderot and the western Negev.
Sderot residents claim they are unable to determine whether the explosions they hear are a result of Qassam attacks or IDF retaliation operations.
“We think the ‘Red Dawn’ rocket alert system is malfunctioning,” Rina Mor of Sderot said.
“For the past week we have not been able to hear the system, but we hear the explosions and IDF fire just fine.
“Our children’s anxieties begin immediately with the sound of the explosions; the IDF must find a way to inform the residents that the explosions are a result of IDF fire,” she added.
Sources in Sderot said that security establishment officials have already warned them of possible Qassam attacks on the city over the Sabbath.
First published: 15:55, 01.13.6