Two rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza at around 10 PM. Earlier, two more rockets were fired towards Sderot. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted both rockets. At 5:23 PM, sirens were heard in the Sdot Negev, Shaar HaNegev, and Eshkol regional council areas Thursday evening following the rocket launch. Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system targeted and shot down the rocket. No injuries or damage have been reported. Residents of Israeli towns on the Gaza border were forced to seek shelter after the rocket launch, following two days of rocket attacks by the Islamic Jihad terror organization. The fighting broke out Tuesday morning, after Israeli aircraft carried out a pinpoint airstrike against the home of arch terrorist Baha Abu al-Ata, the chief of Islamic Jihad’s Al Quds Brigades in the Gaza Strip. Abu al-Ata was responsible for numerous attacks on Israel, the IDF said, including a 2008 infiltration attack on Nahal Oz that left two Israelis dead. Following Abu al-Ata’s elimination, Islamic Jihad fired hundreds of rockets at Israel Tuesday and Wednesday, while the IDF retaliated with strikes in Gaza, killing 25 terrorists. The heads of the regional authorities in the Gaza envelope have decided that schools and kindergartens will be closed tomorrow despite the ceasefire with the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization. The decision was made following the alarms that sounded in the area tonight and the rockets launched from Gaza. "We are in contact with the IDF and are reviewing the developments. At present there is no change in the other defensive guidelines. The decision was made with concern for the students and the educational staff,"
