Qassam rocket (Archive photo)
Photo: Gabo Altmark
IDF cannons used to respond
Photo: AP
Qassam rocket fire continues: A Qassam rocket landed in an open field south of Ashkelon Sunday evening, after being launched from the northern Gaza Strip. No injuries and damages were reported in the attack.
at areas from which the Qassams were launched in northern Gaza.
The IDF responded by firing artillery rounds
State Comptroller Report
Ronny Sofer
Ahead of the August pullout the defense establishment penned a plan to shield southern Israeli communities from the threat of Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip; government funds to build defenses against rockets has not reached some towns
Four Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza toward the western Negev area Friday evening. The "Red Dawn" alert system detected the rockets at around 9:30 p.m. The Qassams apparently landed in open fields. No injuries were reported in the attack.
Later, the IDF fired shells at Qassam launching sites in the northern Gaza Strip.
Earlier on Friday, two rockets landed at around 5 a.m. in an open field near Kibbutz Zikim. A man working in the area was treated for shock caused by the explosion, However, no injuries or damage were reported. The landing site of the second Qassam has not yet been found.
At noon another Qassam was fired from north Gaza and reportedly landed near Yad Mordechai; no injuries or damage were reported in the attack.
Security forces searched the area for the exact landing site. It is estimated the rocket fell in agricultural fields in the area.
'Terror shock wave being planned'
Meanwhile, a meeting of the Knesset's Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee last week saw Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin announce that Qassam rockets within PA controlled territory have a range of between 10 - 40 kilometers.
"The Palestinians are preparing a shock wave of terror attacks. In Judea and Samaria, there are efforts to create independent weapons systems, including Qassams," he said.
Diskin added that there has been a rise in the amount of terror attacks and attempted attacks against Israel since the disengagement. He said there were 48 attacks in October, compared with 277 in December.