Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks on southern Israel resumed on
Sunday evening and continued into Monday morning.
Sixteen rockets were fired from the Gaza
Strip after midnight on Sunday. Four kassam rockets landed in Sderot, the Eshkol Regional
Council area and on the outskirts of Ashkelon. No injuries or damage
were reported in the attacks. An additional rocket damaged a building in the Eshkol Regional Council on Monday morning and the Iron Dome anti-rocket shield intercepted one rocket fired in the direction of Ashkelon.
RELATED:Aharonovitch: Rocket attacks on South will continue Iron Dome intercepts more than 15 rockets this weekend The rocket attacks continued despite reports that
Hamas was seeking an immediate ceasefire with Israel.
Late
on Sunday, the Israeli Air Force struck terror cells attempting to
launch rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel. It was not clear if
Palestinians were injured in the air strike.
Prior to the IAF
action, two rockets were fired at Ashkelon. One was intercepted by the
Iron Dome anti-rocket shield, and another fell south of the city in an
open area, failing to cause damage.
Minutes earlier, the color
red rocket alert had been activated in the Sha’ar Henegev Regional
Council, sending residents fleeing for cover. A rocket fell near a
kibbutz in the area, however no injuries were reported.
On Sunday
morning, barrages of rockets were fired at Beersheba and Ashkelon.
Roughly half of the rockets fired at both cities were intercepted by the
Iron Dome.
One rocket struck an empty high school and pierced
the roof, sending shrapnel flying. Fortunately, the building was empty
due to the summer holidays.
The farming community of Eshkol Regional Council was shelled by Palestinian mortars throughout the day.
One of the shells retrieved by IDF sappers contained phosphorous, designed to create a more intense fire after detonation.
