A Fatah-affiliated terrorist group claimed responsibility for today's rockets. On Sunday morning, a Kassam crashed down near Sderot, while four landed on Friday. Two were fired on Thursday, and six last Tuesday. Residents say that miraculously, no one was physically hurt in these attacks. Sarah Sasson, a young mother living in Sderot, told Maariv's Moshe Priel this morning, "When I heard the explosions, I jumped in my usual fashion to protect the children. Unfortunately, we are quite used to this. The situation is catastrophic, and I fear that it will just get worse as Hamas gets stronger, and also with the government's failure in the Mughrabi Gate in Jerusalem." The area of the western Negev, and particularly the city of Sderot, have been in the sights of Kassam missile launchers for five years, almost to the day. On Feb. 10, 2002, for the first time, a Kassam-2 rocket was fired towards Kibbutz Saad, and another landed close by in Moshav Shuva. Kassams continued to be fired over the ensuing days as well. Several months earlier, in April 2001, the city of Sderot was hit by three Palestinian-fired 82mm mortar shells. No one was hurt and no damage was caused, but it was the furthest inside the Green Line that Palestinian mortar shells had hit up to that day.
