VIDEO - Defense Minister Ehud Barak has decided not to reopen the crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after Palestinians fired three Qassam rockets at Sderot on Tuesday afternoon. It was unclear when the transfer of goods into Gaza would be resumed.
As part of Barak's decision, the Sufa crossing, the Nahal Oz fuel terminal and the Karni crossing will remain closed Wednesday morning for the transfer of food, medicine and humanitarian equipment. The Erez crossing in the northern Strip will open for the passage of Palestinians into Israel for humanitarian treatment.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Wednesday that the closure of the Gaza crossings by Israel constitutes a violation of the ceasefire.
Security sources explained that the rockets fired at Sderot constituted a blatant violation of the truce agreement and could not be ignored, but estimated that Hamas would try to maintain the lull for the time being.
The IDF refrained from responding to the Qassam attack, but security officials stressed that the army would not hesitate to act against launching cells at real time.
"We are prepared for any scenario and development," a military source said in light of Barak's decision. "This could lead to an escalation within hours, and we will know how to respond."
Sderot's residents were not surprised by Tuesday's rocket attack.
"When the ceasefire agreement with Hamas went into effect last Thursday, many residents expressed their fear that the rocket fire would be resumed shortly. Many of them continued sleeping in the secured rooms and bomb shelters.
Last week, Ofer Lieberman of Kibbutz Nir Am estimated that the truce would last until Tuesday or Wednesday.
"Even then I thought it wouldn’t last more than a week," he said Tuesday. "Our kibbutz didn’t really manage to get used to the calm, although it is very easy to get used to it. However, we continued our struggle over the past few days, and due to today's rockets we've decided to demonstrate tomorrow and block the Sufa and Karni crossing to the movement of goods and vehicles."
Yossi Zagzag of Sderot said he knew the truce wouldn’t last long. "I didn’t think it would realty be quiet. I took advantage of these days to try and sell my house and find a job outside this town.
"I was always afraid of an IDF operation which would end this calm. And indeed, today's rocket fire proved what we always believed, and even if there are a few more days of peace and quiet it won't help, because this situation will not end without a comprehensive IDF operation."
Back to Qassam routine (Photo: Ze'ev Trachtman)
Yael Shneor was on her way back to her parents' house in Sderot on Tuesday afternoon. When she reached the house she heard the Color Red alert system and spotted people gathering outside her parents' home. Luckily, her mother and two grandchildren who were in the house were no injured, despite the fact that the house hit by Qassam shrapnel is unfortified.
'We went out after a long time'
"What happened today wasn’t a big surprise," she said. "You could say that we were all pretty tense. I have an 18-month old child who almost never goes outside, because there was a time when a rocket landed while I was outside and I haven’t left the house with him ever since.
"Yesterday I finally went out with him to the playground, and I planned to that him downtown, but naturally the rockets disrupted our plans. The truth is I had some expectations from this lull, because the security situation caused me to lose 15 kilos and damaged my health."
Residents who left Sderot returned to the city following the ceasefire agreement. The Dahan family returned after living in Netivot for four months.
"When we arrived at Sderot the children entered the fortified room immediately," said Meir Dahan. Our children are traumatized, but we told them that now we have reconciled with the Palestinians.
"A day later they we managed to convince them to sleep on the second floor, we felt good and it was quiet. We thought that a new era may really be starting in Sderot."
But the Dahan family's optimism quickly disappeared. "This afternoon I went to sleep on the second floor, something which I haven’t done for years. And then my son woke me up and told me the rocket system had been activated. Unfortunately, we returned to the reality we left. Our only consolation is that we had a few months of peace of mind."
Shmulik Hadad contributed to this report
First published: 23:37, 06.24.8