Rocket hits Sderot home

Sderot under attack: At least seven Qassam rockets were fired Friday evening from the northern Gaza Strip at western Negev communities. One house in Sderot sustained a direct hit in the latest barrages.

The rocket that hit the home penetrated it through the roof while a girl, her parents, and her grandfather were eating dinner. All four suffered from shock.

Rafi Peretz, whose house was directly hit, told Ynet: "We just finished dinner when we heard the 'Red Color' alert. We didn't even have time to run to our fortified room…we were very lucky and it was a great miracle that we were all on the first floor, so nobody was hurt."

Home hit in Friday's attack (Photo: Sharon Moyal)

Peretz's neighbors called on Prime Minister Olmert to come to their home and live there for a week. One neighbor said: "The Qassams don't stop even on Friday."

An eyewitness at the scene told Ynet: "The Qassam hit the second floor of a home in the neighborhood. The neighbors came out to see where it landed, and then another 'Red Color' alert was sounded…several people hit the ground and were scared to move, because the barrage continued."

Magen David Adom ambulance teams dispatched to the various Sderot landing sites treated six residents so far. Two of them sustained bruises after falling while seeking cover. Three of the injured residents were taken to hospital in Ashkelon.  

Residents protest latest attacks

Soon after the rockets hit the town, about 30 demonstrators blocked traffic at the junction south of Sderot to protest the "government's disregard for Sderot residents."

One of the demonstrators, Yossi Sheetrit, said that "we are sick and tired of the Qassams and we are sick and tired of being ignored, so we went to protest on the road and we're disrupting traffic."

"We don't hear any air power even after the latest barrage," Sheetrit added. "We don't see gunships in the air, and we don't feel the government is doing anything to stop the fire."

Group declares 'revenge operation'

The Salah al-Din Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, claimed responsibility for the latest rocket attacks. On Friday, the group declared that it was launching an operation to avenge the killing of a senior group figure in Gaza earlier this week, Abu al-Sa'ad.

In total, terrorists fired about 30 rockets at southern Israel since Friday morning.

A senior PRC member, Abu Abir, warned the attacks would only increase and urged the evacuation of Sderot and its neighboring communities.

"What was up until now is nothing compared to what will be. We call on them (the Israelis) to evacuate for their safety and the safety of their children," he said.

Ali Waked contributed to the report