Qassam lands in southern kibbutz
Alert system activated in Sderot area just before rocket hits kibbutz. No injuries reported, but houses suffer damage. Shaar Hanegev Regional Council head furious, demands to fortify residents' houses 'like in the north'
There were no reports of injuries, but several houses suffered damage when a window was shattered in one of them. Pieces of glass fell near the bed of a sleeping child.
The Color Red alert system was activated in Sderot and the nearby kibbutzim at around 5:30 a.m., followed by a loud explosion.
The rocket landed in a kibbutz in which houses are not fortified, like nearly all the other kibbutzim in the area.
Alon Schuster, head of the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council, who arrived at the rocket landing site, was furious. According to him, the Southern Command's Gaza division held an evaluation of the situation in recent days with the local council heads.
"The Home Front Command is also falling into line and saying that an escalation is expected and that this is a confrontation line, and this means that houses must be fortified like in the north where, by the way, residents have two protection systems – bomb shelters and secure rooms – and here we have nothing," he said.
"The government's policy is of denial. They are ignoring the danger and saying that everything is okay, but everything is not okay. The government must allocate funds, not deny reality," he charged.
A Sderot resident, Avi Parhan, said the explosive sounded very close to his home.
“I urge the government to stop holding back and order the IDF to fire at the launching sources even if they are in Beit Hanoun,” he said.
5 rockets fired at Sderot Tuesday
Sderot residents anticipated a renewal of the rocket launchings, despite the ceasefire, following the killing of a gunman Wednesday close to the security fence by the Karni Crossing in the northern Gaza Strip.The troops opened fire at the Palestinian after they identified him as being armed with guns and grenades. Wednesday's incident marks the first time the IDF opened fire at gunmen since the ceasefire with the Palestinians was declared.
On Tuesday, after five days of calm, five Qassam rockets were launched from Gaza towards the Western Negev. The rockets landed in open fields near Sderot, and caused no injuries or damage.
Sources in the Palestinian Authority said the Islamic Jihad was behind the attack, but the organization refused to claim responsibility for the shooting.
According to the security forces, 24 Qassams landed in Israel since the truce was announced.
