2 Qassams hit Sderot; no injuries

Rockets land in open fields; no injuries reported. Army estimates Palestinians responding to Beit Hanoun incident

Shmulik Hadad
Published: 10.23.06, 22:07

Two Qassam rockets fired from north Gaza toward Sderot Monday evening landed in open areas in the western Negev city.

No injuries were reported but the Sderot Municipality said several residents suffered from shock. Damage was caused to two vehicles.

The Color Red alert system was activated just before 9:30 p.m., and loud explosions were heard a short time later. The alert level in Sderot has been heightened due to the IDF’s activity in Gaza, and it was estimated that the Palestinians will attempt to respond to the operation in Beit Hanoun, in which seven locals were killed and 30 others were wounded.

Lt. Col. Guy Biton, commander of the Givati battalion that operated in the Strip, said, "We only hit gunmen who were firing at our forces. If we didn't, those gunmen would be launching Qassam rockets on Sderot tomorrow."

The Palestinians, however, claimed that six of those killed were family members of Atta Shanbari, a commander at the Salah al-Din Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees' military wing.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing, describing the incident as a "heinous massacre." Abbas urged the international community to intervene in order to prevent a further escalation in the situation. He called on Israel and Palestinian armed groups to halt the fighting.