W. Negev building damaged by Kassam

2nd rocket hits Sderot; none hurt; follows Hamas claim that it stopped attacks.

By YAAKOV KATZ, JPOST STAFF
Kassam is jihad 298.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
Kassam is jihad 298.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
A western Negev building was damaged Friday when it was struck by a Kassam rocket fired by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza. No one was wounded. Hours earlier, a rocket landed in an open area in Sderot. No one was wounded but damage to crops was reported. On Thursday, Hamas's military wing, which has been responsible for most of the recent Kassam fire, said that it had not launched a rocket in 48 hours. Four rockets were fired Thursday into the western Negev, two of which landed in open fields near the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council, but Channel 10 quoted Hamas officials as saying that those rockets were launched by other groups such as the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC). The claim came despite an earlier warning by Damascus-based Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal that the rocket fire would continue until Israel stopped its attacks in Gaza. The IDF continued its offensive against the terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, as additional infantry units were deployed along the border in preparation for a possible escalation. In recent days, the IDF has deployed additional armored and infantry units outside the Gaza Strip, particularly in the northern and southern sectors. Military sources said that while a massive ground operation was not planned, the additional units could be sent to areas inside the Strip used to launch rockets or to search for tunnels being dug by terrorists under the border. Defense officials pointed to the continued sharp drop in rocket fire. When the upsurge in Gazan attacks began two weeks ago, Hamas was firing between 30 and 40 rockets a day. Over the past week, that number had dwindled to fewer than 10. Also Thursday, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed that it had arrested two Hamas men from Hebron who had planted a number of bombs along the Kiryat Arba-Kiryat Gat Highway aimed at IDF patrols. The two gunmen were arrested by the IDF in April after two bombs were found on the highway, one of which was set to be detonated by a cellular phone.