17 Qassam rockets strike Negev; IDF suspends air strikes in Gaza By Amos Harel, Mijal Grinberg, Amiram Barkat and Or Kashti

Seventeen Qassam rockets struck the western Negev yesterday, but the Israel Defense Forces conducted no aerial strikes on the Gaza Strip for the first time in more than a week.

Three of the rockets hit Sderot, with one landing as Defense Minister Amir Peretz turned out in his hometown to vote in the Labor Party primary.
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Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of Oshri Oz in Petah Tikva yesterday. Oz, 36, of Hod Hasharon, was killed in a Qassam attack on Sderot on Sunday.

The rockets that hit Sderot fell in open areas, lightly injuring one resident and causing five others to suffer from shock. Another rocket sparked a fire when it hit a wheat field near Kibbutz Miflasim. Seven other rockets landed in open fields near communities in the western Negev.

The Popular Resistance Committees and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine took responsibility for the attacks.

Meanwhile, some 800 pupils arrived at Sderot's grammar schools, which opened after two weeks of disruptions due to the rocket attacks. Some 400 high school students went to schools outside the town. Altogether, some 1,200 pupils out of more than 3,000 came to classes.