Over 18 Palestinian rockets were fired at Sderot and the western Negev, Sunday, December 21. In the early morning, nine Qassam rockets were fired at Israel, landing in the Eshkol Regional Council, Sha’ar HaNegev, several kibbutzim, and Ashkelon’s industrial zone, which is located 16 kilometers north of Gaza. One Qassam shrapnel wounded a Thai migrant worker from Kibbutz Netiv Ha’Asara where he was working in a greenhouse. He was evacuated to Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon. In Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council, a Qassam rocket exploded near a youth cultural center.

Photo: Maor Moravia

Around three o’clock Sunday afternoon, four more Qassam rockets were fired at Sderot. No injuries were reported. An hour later, six Qassam rockets were fired at Sderot, with four rockets landing in the city. One Qassam rocket directly hit a Sderot home, causing severe damage to its structure and one Sderot resident went into shock. Another Palestinian rocket landed near a Sderot elementary school.


Photo: Meital Ohayon

The Palestinian terror group, Islamic Jihad took responsibility for Sunday’s rocket terror on Israel, while Hamas’s Iz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, took responsibility for the weekend’s Qassam fire on Sderot and the Negev. Over 13 Qassams and 20 mortar shells were fired at Israel’s western Negev on Saturday. One rocket hit a kibbutz building, but caused no injuries.

Magen David Adom announced a heightened state of alert in the Gaza vicinity communities. The Home Front Command instructed the leaders of Israeli communities in the vicinity of Gaza, that Israeli school children must remain in fortified rooms and bomb shelters during recess. The order will stay in effect until the beginning of the Chanukah vacation which starts this Tuesday.

Photo: Maor Moravia

In light of the Palestinian rocket escalation on Sderot and the western Negev, several prominent Likud party members visited the rocket-shelled city Sunday afternoon. Among the visitors, were Likud chairman, Bibi Netanyahu, Limor Livnat, Moshe ‘Bugi’ Ayalon, Dan Meridor, and Yuval Steinitz. The Likud MKs also stopped by the Sderot family whose home was directly hit by a Qassam rocket earlier in the day.

Last week, Yuval Diskin, Shin Bet chief, warned that rocket attacks against Israel will get much worse. Hamas has rocket-firing capability to long range with rockets being able to reach Kiryat Gat as well as Ashdod and Be’er Sheva, according to Diskin.

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