Rocket hits western Galilee kindergarten
Hizbullah fires four rockets, mortar shells towards Galilee communities; fire fighting crews work to extinguish fire sparked when mortars hit. Sirens heard in Nahariya, Maalot, Kfar Vradim
Hizbullah operatives fired four Katyusha rockets which hit three Israeli communities in the western Galilee Tuesday night. One of the rockets struck an empty kindergarten and caused damages, and the other three landed in open areas. No casualties were reported.
At least three mortar shells were fired by Hizbullah Tuesday night and hit the area of Shlomi. Simultaneously, security forces searched open areas around Shlomi and two nearby communities, where some 10 mortars were believed to have fallen.
Fire fighting crews from the Western Galilee were called to extinguish fires which ignited as a result of the shell hits. No casualties were reported.
Head of the Maaleh Yosef Regional Council Avi Krampa said, “Luckily, the rocket only caused damages and not casualties. Since the beginning of fighting, three weeks have passed, but local residents are strong and believe in the government and the IDF. We’ll sit in shelters as long as is necessary, but this war has to be won and Hizbullah, which threatens northern residents, must be stopped.”
Head of the Shlomi Regional Council, Gabi Neeman, said, “We are conducting tours together with security official in the area after hits were heard nearby. Up until now, because it is dark, we haven’t found the hit sites, which were apparently in open areas.
IDF: Calm is temporary
During a press briefing Tuesday evening, Northern Command chief Brig. Gen. Alon Friedman noted that Hizbullah has halted rocket fire in the past two days for internal strategic reasons, and was expected to renew attacks.
Friedman warned northern residents not to sink into indifference, and stressed that the Home Front and frontlines were ready in case of renewed rocket fire.
At around 9:00 p.m. warning sirens pierced the air in Nahariya, Maalot and Kfar Vradim, but no rocket hits were yet reported in those areas.
At 9:30, air raid sirens were activated in Nahariya and Shlomi, but again no hits were reported.
Sirens Tuesday morning
Tuesday morning a number of mortar shells were fired towards Israeli communities in the Upper Galilee adjacent to the border with Lebanon. No one was wounded and no damage was caused in the attacks. On Monday as well, mortars were fired at Israel and landed around Kiryat Shmona.
Air raid sirens were heard in Nahariya and Akko Tuesday morning as well, but no rockets hits were reported. Nahariya has absorbed dozens of rocket attacks since the beginning of the fighting. Local residents, who have spent the last three weeks cooped up in bomb shelters, stayed in the protective shelters Monday and Tuesday as well, not trusting the relative calm in the North.
Today was the first time actual sirens sounded in Nahariya – up until now, citizens were alerted of impending rocket strikes over the city’s PA system. Tuesday the siren system was hooked up to the Home Front’s warning apparatus.
Monday proved to be the calmest day since the beginning of fighting in the north, when only spare mortars hit Kiryat Shmona and no rockets hit the North. Sunday, on the contrary, was the most violent day – with 148 rockets striking Israeli territory, 100 hitting Kiryat Shmona. Magen David Adom medics treated 59 wounded, one of whom suffered moderate wounds and eight suffered light wounds. The rest were treated for shock.
