Gaza rocket crews fired Grad rockets into Israel overnight Saturday, seriously
damaging two local houses in Netivot and leaving seven civilians lightly
injured.
One of the rockets was fired at Beersheba and landed in the city
without causing any damage.
That strike was followed by a Grad hit on
Netivot, which caused heavy damage to two houses.
Shortly after the
rocket strike the local authorities in Beersheba and Ashdod canceled school for
Sunday. On Sunday night, they announced that classes would resume as normal on
Monday.
Neither the rocket fired at Beersheba nor the one that hit
Netivot were targeted by the vaunted Iron Dome missile defense
system.
When asked about complaints by local residents that Netivot, a
regular target of Gaza rocket crews, is not covered by the Iron Dome system, the
IDF said that “the Iron Dome is a tactical, portable system that can give an
answer only in specific areas, and the decision on which answer is made by
situational assessments, in light of the changing reality.”
Netivot City
Hall spokesman Benny Cohen said Sunday’s rocket strike was not that unusual for
the city, where such attacks “happen from time to time. That’s the problem; it’s
become part of the atmosphere of the city.”
Cohen said the majority of
city residents have safe rooms inside their homes or access to a nearby public
shelter. In addition, in recent years, private donors have contributed a large
number of portable concrete pillboxes, which are placed throughout residential
areas of the city to provide shelter when the “Code Red” alarm goes off.