5 Qassams fired at Sderot
Palestinians in north Gaza launch rocket attack after long period of relative calm; woman lightly hurt, damage done to several structure. Resident: The house next to us suffered a direct hit and the warehouse went up in flames. It was a bit frightening
Palestinians in north Gaza fired five Qassam rockets early Thursday toward Sderot and surrounding communities. A woman who recently gave birth sustained light injuries in the attack and was evacuated to a nearby hospital for treatment. A number of buildings in the city were damaged.
The “Red Dawn” alert system was repeatedly activated during the morning hours, this after a long period of relative quiet: In the past month only a small number of rockets were fired toward Sderot.
One of the Qassams directly hit a warehouse near Moshe Rabenu Street, in close proximity to a local school. The warehouse was set ablaze, and firefighters were dispatched to the scene.
“After a long period of calm we were awoken by the blasts this morning,” Sderot resident Mordechai Omid said. “The house next to us suffered a direct hit and the warehouse went up in flames. Apparently there were flammable substances inside, and a black cloud hovered over the entire neighborhood. It was a bit frightening; we hope the previous situation will not return.”
'This looks more like Alcatraz'
Two rockets landed in open areas in the city, damaging a number of homes and cars; two more Qassams landed in nearby kibbutzim; one landed in Kibbutz Miflasim, near unprotected children’s residences. Another rocket landed near Kibbutz Nir Am.
A few days ago the Sderot Parents Association decided to put the education system in town on strike as of September 3, due to fear of rockets attacks on the local schools and kindergartens.
"Some of the facilities have been fortified, but unfortunately – this is not the kind of fortification we were hoping for," head of the Parents Association, Batia Katar, said.
"What were built here are walls reminiscent of the ugliest kind of jails that sow fear in the hearts of the students. This looks more like Alcatraz than an educational institution," she stated.
On Wednesday an IDF force operating in the Gaza Strip located and destroyed two Qassam rocket launchers in the town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. In addition, the IDF identified a Qassam rocket launching toward the Karni crossing in Gaza. According to the estimates, the rocket landed in Palestinian territory.
