Under fire: More rockets hit south
Rocket fire from Gaza continues throughout Saturday, prompting residents in south to take cover in secure rooms; no injuries or damages reported in strikes. Meanwhile, visiting UN chief calls for end to rocket attacks, Gaza siege
Under fire, again: Several Qassam rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip Saturday, prompting residents in southern Israel to take cover in secure rooms.
A Qassam rocket fired from northern Gaza Saturday evening landed in the Shaar Hanegev regional council.
The rocket landed in an open area; no injuries were reported.
Earlier, a rocket landed in an open area in the Ashkelon Beach regional council; no injuries or damages were reported in the attack.
Shortly after the strike, the Color Red alert was also activiated in the Sderot region and in the Ashkelon area. Police initially said these were false alarms, but officials later announced that a rocket did land in an open area near Sderot.
Another rocket fired from Gaza Saturday landed in Palestinian territory near Kissufim.
Ban: End blockade, rocket fire
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on the Palestinians to end rocket attacks from Gaza, while urging Israel to lift the Gaza blockade,
Speaking at a joint press conference with President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem, Ban said the UN aims to see negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians bringing results within 24 months.
The UN chief also said the parties should refrain from acting in a way that could predetermine negotiation results, hinting at Israeli settlement construction.
Addressing Peres, Ban said he understood the challenges involves in guaranteeing security for Israelis. He then urged "Palestinian radicals" to put an end to their rocket attacks on Israel.
Ongoing attacks
The latest attacks continued a series of rocket launches from the Gaza Strip in recent days. On Friday, a Qassam fired from northern Gaza hit an open area near a kibbutz in the Sha'ar Hanegev regional council.No injuries or damages were reported in that strike either.
On Thursday, a Thai worker was killed in Netiv Ha'asara, just north of the Gaza border and another 50 Thai laborers suffered from shock after a Qassam landed in a greenhouse. The foreign workers required treatment by social workers with the assistance of translators.
The escalation in rocket attacks has prompted the IDF to retaliate for the Qassam strikes. Thursday night, the Air Force hit several targets in Gaza, and on Friday it struck a Hamas facility in the southern part of the Strip; the Palestinians said that 14 people were hurt in the attack, including two who sustained serious wounds.
Ronen Medzini, Ilana Curiel, Tova Dadon and Hanan Greenberg contributed to the report
