2 hurt in mortar attack
One man lightly wounded, another suffers from shock after home in southern community of Nativ Ha'asara sustains direct mortar shell hit; following strike, IDF directs artillery fire at northern Gaza
Magen David Adom paramedics treated the two victims at the scene. One of them was hit in the face by shrapnel following a direct mortar shell hit on a home in the community.
In the wake of the latest attack, the IDF directed artillery fire at the mortar launching sites in the northern Gaza Strip.
The community's electric system was hit by one of the mortar shells, and power was consequently disconnected for three hours, but later restored by Israel Electric Corporation workers.
Miraculously saved
One of the mortar shells hit the house of the Margalit family, one of the oldest families in the community, which evacuated from Yamit in Sinai more than 20 years ago.
The rocket miraculously missed the family's daughter, 18-years-old Nufar.
"I was sitting in the computer room, which actually serves as my second room, and once the "Red Dawn" alarm sounded, we ran to the shelter," Nufar recalled.
"At that moment, the electricity went down and the community fell into total darkness. A few minutes later, I ran back to the computer room to see what was going on, but I heard the alarm again and returned to the sheltered room," she said.
"Three seconds later, even before I had a chance to get to the shelter, the rocket hit the computer room and cracked a hole through the ceiling. The walls were damaged, and the mirrors and windowpanes were shattered," she described.
I may seem calm now, but this was only a matter of seconds, she added.
"Earlier I was shaking, and I cried. I'm only grasping everything that happened now. Fortunately, the attack only resulted in damage to our property," she concluded.
Nufar said that the first thing she did after the rocket landed was to see that all the family members were alright.
"I was always the one telling everyone that things will be fine, but I suppose I wasn't realistic. I have no doubt that a solution must be found. I truly hope that the security administration will put an end to this situation," Nufar stated.
Residents: Promised fence not completed
According to the community's security coordinator, Gil Ta'asa, "immediately following the landing of the rockets, the community's alert squad was dispatched to the scene and we started conducting inspections across the community to look for wounded people."
"One house was damaged as a result of the strike," Ta'asa added.
The Nativ Ha'asara region has become much more vulnerable to attacks following the pullout from Gaza, and its proximity to the border enables the Palestinians to fire mortar shells at the community as well as Qassams
The residents of Nativ Ha'asara stressed that the erection
of the security fence around the community was not yet completed, that the alert squad has yet to receive reinforced vehicles, and that various other defense systems were still under construction.
A Magen David Adom ambulance was left at the community, in fear it may be needed again if rocket firing ensue. The alert level at the place was also increased.
Attacks continue
Earlier Wednesday, the "Red Dawn" alert system in the southern town of Sderot identified a launching of a Qassam rocket. So far, there have been no reports on a rocket landing in the area.
The Qassam apparently landed in a Palestinian area or near the Gaza Strip.
The IDF is following closely the Qassam and mortar attacks on Israel, after three mortar shells and Qassam rockets were launched at the Sderot area overnight.
The army has so far refrained from using the term '"escalation" to describe the situation.
Meanwhile, Hamas chose not to take part in the strikes on Israel, despite a targeted killing of one of the organization's members, carried out by the IAF Tuesday.
The other terrorist groups continue the attacks.
IDF sources stated that the army will examine the situation and respond according to developments.
IDF operates in West Bank
Meanwhile, one Palestinian was killed and three others were injured during an IDF operation Wednesday in the town of Kabatiya in the Jenin area.
Palestinians said that the terrorist killed was a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, the Fatah military wing.
The IDF soldiers who besieged the man's house exchanged fire with him, and he was ultimately shot to death. IDF officials said that the soldiers were in the area as part of an operation against terror infrastructures in the town.
Later, in another IDF operation in Kabatiya, soldiers identified three Palestinian gunmen who opened fire at them. The soldiers fired back and the three were wounded.
Early Wednesday, an IDF soldier was seriously wounded and later died of his wounds in an overnight arrest raids near the West Bank town of Jenin.
Sergeant Yonatan Evron, 20, from Rishon Letzion, was killed in exchanges of fire between soldiers and Palestinian terrorists.
