Grad rocket fired from Gaza lands near Beersheba

Police survey site of Grad rocket explosion 311.(Photo by: Be'er Tuvia Regional Council)

By JPOST.COM STAFF
08/28/2011

No injuries or damage reported; attack comes after relative quiet following "cease-fire" announcement by Islamic Jihad.

A Grad rocket fired from Gaza toward Beersheba on Sunday morning landed in open fields outside the city. No injuries or damage were reported.

The Iron Dome anti-rocket system did not intercept the Grad as was previously thought.

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On Friday night, a Kassam rocket fired into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip landed in open territory in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council area hours after a Grad rocket landed south of Ashkelon. No injuries or damage were reported in either attack.

The attacks came after the Islamic Jihad announced a new cease-fire agreement in the Gaza Strip early Friday morning, according to sources in Gaza quoted by Israel radio. The agreement was reportedly brokered by Egypt and the UN.

The cease-fire announcement, made by Nafaz Azam, was unexpected as on Thursday the Islamic Jihad had vowed to extend the range of their rocket capabilities, sending projectiles deeper into Israeli territory. The terror group had said that it would triple the number of Israelis affected by rocket attacks.

This announcement came as the South braced for a weekend of violence as rocket fire intensified on Thursday and the IDF struck back, killing two terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

At least 15 rockets and mortar shells pounded southern Israel on Thursday, hitting open areas near Ashkelon and in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. A mortar shell struck the Erez crossing, which is frequently used by Palestinians to enter Israel for medical treatments, causing extensive damage.

However, Friday was relatively quiet, prompting the Home Front Command to ease safety restrictions on southern residents, Channel 2 reported. The instruction to residents of the South to stay within 15 seconds of a bomb shelter was called off, according to the report.

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