BICOM

Residents of southern Israel look set to face another day of rocket attacks as violence continued overnight Monday and into Tuesday morning.

More than twenty rockets and mortar shells were fired yesterday by armed Palestinians from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel. One rocket directly hit a factory in the town of Netivot but caused no injuries after workers fled for cover. The Iron Dome missile defence system shot down two rockets heading for Ofakim and intercepted a further two rockets targeting Ashkelon. More than 160 rockets have landed in southern Israel since Saturday, causing damage to property and minor injuries, while Israel’s air force has responded with strategic strikes resulting in the reported deaths of six Palestinians.

Representatives of armed Palestinian groups, including Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, issued a statement yesterday agreeing to hold their rocket fire on condition of “the end of Israeli aggression.” Soon after the announcement though, three additional rockets were fired at Sderot. The rockets exploded in open areas, causing no damages or injuries. Overnight, a Grad rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip that landed in an open area near Ashdod. In response, the Israel Air Force struck a weapons storage site in central Gaza and two rocket launching sites in the north of the strip.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday gave a briefing on the situation to foreign ambassadors in Ashkelon, telling them that the “world has to understand that Israel has the right and the duty to defend its citizens… We will not sit idly by. We will act to stop this situation.” Netanyahu is expected to meet today with his security cabinet, the so-called ‘committee of nine’ to consider a wide range of potential responses. Several commentators have predicted that Netanyahu would like to avoid a major ground operation in the Gaza Strip, although it remains one of a variety of options that also includes increased air strikes targeting Hamas leaders and installations.