School canceled in Beersheba due to rocket attack
Following consultation with defense officials, Home Front Command after first rocket fired from Gaza lands in southern city, municipality decides not to open education institutions. Kindergarten hit in attack; 34 people suffer shock. B-G University says will function as usual
The decision was made following a consultation with security officials, the Home Front Command and Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai. Some 43,000 children and youths are expected to stay at home in light of the decision.
Ben Gurion University of the Negev Spokesman Amir Rosenblit announced that the university would continue to function as usual despite the Home Front Command's instructions, but the institution reversed its decision following Wednesday morning's barrage.
Tuesday evening saw a first Grad rocket fired from the Gaza Strip land in Beersheba. The missile hit an empty kindergarten, causing damage to the building and to a nearby house. Thirty-four people were treated for shock at the Soroka Medical Center in the city.
Beersheba Mayor Rubik Danilovich told Ynet following the rocket attack, "We are part of the country and I call on the residents to prepare and not to panic. Sderot is being hit by rockets for eight years now, and we too will be patient. As the operations in the Gaza Strip were widened we estimated that the rockets would also reach Beersheba. I'm glad it ended without any casualties."
Operation Cast Lead – Day 4: The main headlines:
- Rockets land in Kiryat Malachi, Rahat area
- Grad missile hits Beersheba
- Ministers asked to approve additional draft
- Sarkozy to visit Israel to promote truce
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert placed an embargo on the resolutions of his Tuesday evening meeting with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, Shin Bet Director Yuval Diskin and other defense officials.
One of the issues discussed during the meeting was considering different international initiatives for a temporary pause to the fighting in Gaza, in a bid to examine Hamas' intentions.
The Prime Minister's Office said that the discussion was embargoed due to the sensitivity of the situation and the impact on the fate of Israel's citizens.
40 rockets fired, dozens suffer shock
Some 40 Qassam rockets and Grad missiles were fired at the western Negev communities throughout Tuesday. Two people were lightly hurt by shrapnel and about 60 suffered shock.
The rocket fire reached new ranges on Tuesday, with Grad missiles landing in Beersheba and near the cities of Kiryat Malachi and Rahat.
Sources in the defense establishment presented some of the achievements of Operation Cast Lead so far. Some 500 targets have been attacked from the air since 11:30 am Saturday. The strikes left 370 people dead and hundreds injured – most of them members of Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees.
Hamas gunmen have fired 180 rockets and dozens of mortar shells into Israel since the start of the operation. About 75% of the rockets and mortars hit open areas. One of the most significant achievements was the destruction of two-thirds of the launching pits, where Hamas tried to hide the rocket launchers.
Sources in the defense establishment estimate that Hamas still has more than 2,000 rockets of all types, including dozens of long-range rockets which could reach Ashdod, Beersheba and even further communities.
Roni Sofer and Shmulik Hadad contributed to this report
