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3 hurt as IAF hits Gaza rocket squad
Three people were wounded Tuesday after the IAF hit a rocket squad in Gaza, Palestinians reported. The IDF confirmed the air strike saying it was carried out just after the terrorists had fired rockets at southern Israel. The strike took place in northern Gaza, the most frequent launching area for rockets. Terrorists fired four rockets at Israel on Tuesday, the IDF said. There were no reports of casualties or damage. Since Israel called off its offensive in Gaza in late January, and Hamas also declared a cease-fire, more than 100 rockets have been fired at Israel, according to the IDF.
Meanwhile, Sderot opened a heavily fortified indoor playground on Tuesday that will give its traumatized children a safe place to play. The converted warehouse is equipped with a half dozen shelters and an emergency broadcast system giving the kids a 15-second warning of incoming rockets. The protected facility, with a mini-soccer field, video games and a climbing wall, received a warm welcome from residents. "It's an amazing thing. Until now, only the house and school were safe," said Pesah Hajbi, a 43-year-old father of three. But he added, "It's cold comfort. If they don't stop firing, at least there is a safe place to play." Also Tuesday, Channel 10 TV aired a report about a new method of protecting Sderot buildings, using a spray-on material developed for the Dimona nuclear reactor. The report showed a worker spraying the orange material on the inside of a kindergarten. A test explosion showed a wall badly damaged from the outside but intact inside, because the material absorbed the blow. The $5 million safe recreation center, funded by the Jewish National Fund-US, is surrounded by anti-shockwave walls, painted in blue, yellow, green and red. Nearly 2,000 square meters in size, it has room for 500 people. It is divided into two areas - one for infants and toddlers and the other for children in elementary and high school. It will also be used by seniors during morning hours and can be converted into a disco at night. Children in costumes celebrating Purim roamed the complex on Tuesday, playing in a mock shopping mall for dolls, jumping on an inflatable trampoline and playing foosball and air hockey. Posted by: Fred 2009-03-11 |
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