Qassam rocket hits western Negev

State of calm in south breached again as Qassam explodes in Sha'ar Hanegev. No injuries reported

Shmulik Hadad|Published: 12.12.11 , 08:02

A Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip exploded in an open field in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council overnight. The Color Red alert was sounded in the area. No injuries or damage were reported.

This is the first rocket fired at Israel after a 24-hour lull. On Saturday night a Gaza rocket exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council. There were no injuries.

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Hours later an Air Force jet struck a weapons factory in the northern Gaza Strip carrying out a direct hit. The Palestinians claimed that one of the rockets hit the house of an unarmed operative who was out of the house at the time. A 12-year-old girl and her father were hit by shrapnel in a nearby house.

The current round of violence began on Thursday after the IDF killed the planner of a terrorist attack in south Israel. In response, Palestinians fired some 20 rockets at Israel over the weekend.

On Sunday, cabinet ministers addressed developments in the Gaza Strip. "Sooner or later we will not be able to tolerate Gaza becoming an Iranian missile base and we shall be forced to act," Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said.