A Kassam rocket was fired into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip Wednesday morning, damaging a factory in the Sdot Negev Regional Council area. Police called to the area by residents reported that nobody was injured in the attack.The rocket fell on a packaging plant at approximately four in the morning on Wednesday morning and the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing was closed shortly afterward due to terror warnings.
In response to the attack MK Otniel Schneller (Kadima) said that this event illustrates the need for active defense systems on Israel's border with Gaza to prevent rocket attacks.
The attack came after IAF aircraft struck in the Gaza Strip overnight Thursday, targeting a weapons cache in the north and two smuggling tunnels in the south. The IDF action was a response to several rocket attacks that targeted southern Israel on Thursday.
Two mortar shells and a Kassam rocket landed near one of the kibbutzim in the Negev Regional Council area. Three more mortar shells landed in the Ashkelon area. No damage or injuries were reported in Thursday's attacks.
The attack came as the Security Cabinet is scheduled to meet Wednesday morning to discuss the liberalization of the Gaza blockade ahead of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's trip to Washington to meet with US President Barack Obama next week.
Tuesday evening Israel authorized the Palestinians to let 150 trucks with aid into the Strip each day. The number is twenty more than was previously allowed.