Attacks from Gaza continue Saturday
Eight Qassams land Saturday night, hours after soldier wounded from Hamas-launched missile; Earlier Saturday, two rockets land in Sderot, air force targets launching cell in response
An IDF soldier was wounded from shrapnel, Saturday afternoon, after an anti-tank missile hit the military bulldozer that he was operating near the border fence in the northern Gaza strip. He was taken to hospital for medical treatment. The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, Sderot residents were forced to return to their fortified rooms several times on Saturday. Two Qassam rockets were launched from the northern Gaza Strip towards the town Saturday morning and one more Saturday afternoon.
Eight rockets were fired at the western Negev Saturday evening. Two of the rockets landed in Sderot, with a third landing in nearby community and a fourth landing in an open area right outside city limits.
No one was injured in any of the attacks, although several caused damages. One of the rockets from the morning's barrage landed in an open field outside the town, causing a fire.
The Salah a-Din Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), claimed responsibility for a Saturday morning attack, which set off the ‘Color Red’ alert system at around 11 a.m., warning Sderot’s residents about the Qassams.
Moments later, the IAF targeted the launching cell, which fired the two rockets. According to the IDF, the cell’s three members were hit. Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip reported Saturday evening that one of the Palestinians injured during during the IAF attack died of his wounds.
Palestinian sources also claimed that the three people hit were not the cell members, but civilians. The sources said that a shepherd was killed, and several other civilians injured in the IAF attack.
The Salah a-Din Brigades also claimed responsibility for the Saturday afternoon rocket attack, which damaged several vehicles.
Sderot’s residents, who have been suffering from incessant Qassam attacks for the past 5 days, said they expected the rocket fire to continue on Saturday. About 30 rockets were fired at Sderot and western Negev communities on Thursday, and a total of about 90 rockets have been launched since Tuesday.
In spite of the rocket barrages, most Sderot residents remained in the city. According to unofficial estimates, 2,500 to 3,000 people (out of 23,000 residents) have left the southern town so far.
Tova Dadon, Yael Branovsky, Hanan Greenberg, Ali Waked, and Shmulik Hadad contributed to this article
