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4 rockets hit south as 'special situation' status extended to 40 kilometers from Gaza border
By Yanir Yagna, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Staff and News Agencies
Tags: Gaza, Hamas, Israel news 

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening fired four more rockets into Israel, with two hitting Be'er Sheva and two others falling in Netivot and the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council area. No injuries or damage were reported.

A barrage of more than 60 Katyusha and Qassam rockets hit the western Negev Wednesday, with several rockets exploding in the cities of Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva, previously thought to be beyond the range of Palestinian rockets.


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Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday evening issued a statement extending the 'special situation' status on the home front to all communities within 40 kilometers of the Gaza border.

Be'er Sheva and Yavne are now among the cities included in the order.

Barak reiterated his appeal to all residents "to strictly follow Home Front Command instructions."

Barak's order allows the Defense Ministry, through the Home Front Command, to issue binding regulations for the civilian population in the specified area. The decision is valid for 48 hours, and must then be ratified by the government.

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday fired a barrage of more than 60 Katyusha and Qassam rockets at the western Negev, with a number exploding in the cities of Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva, previously thought to be beyond rocket reach.

A Grad rocket fired by the militants struck directly into an empty schoolhouse in Be'er Sheva on Wednesday morning, 37 kilometers from the coastal territory. Earlier, two rockets exploded in open fields near the Negev city. No injuries or damage was reported.

Two people were lightly wounded when a rocket slammed into the northern Negev city of Ashkelon late Wednesday morning. Another rocket exploded in the early afternoon in the heart of a residential neighborhood in the city, leaving a number of people suffering from shock.

Hamas took responsibility for Wednesday's strike on Be'er Sheva. Shortly after the strike, the Home Front Command issued a ban on all public gatherings in the city.

Home Front Command authorities have instructed Be'er Sheva residents to remain in sheltered areas as Palestinians have succeeded in striking in the deepest point eastward into Israel.

After holding emergency consultations with the Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command, authorities in Be'er Sheva decided on Wednesday there would be no school in the city. The city's mayor, Rubik Danilovich, also ordered all classes at Ben-Gurion University shut down.

The army has also shut down school instruction on Wednesday in all towns lying within 30 kilometers of the Gaza Strip, though kindergartens in reinforced rooms will be in session.

Two Palestinian projectiles also hit Ashkelon on Wednesday morning, injuring one person lightly. Medics treated a number of bystanders for shock. The town of Yavneh, north of Ashdod, was also hit on Wednesday morning, but no injuries or damage were reported.

A total of some 40 rockets hit Israel on Wednesday, though hundreds have been fired since the fighting began over the weekend. Four Israelis have been killed in rocket attacks since Saturday.

Residents of towns abutting the Gaza Strip, including Sderot, are instructed to constantly remain indoors and in close proximity to bomb-proof rooms. Emergency authorities forbid public gatherings and formations of groups.

Gaza rockets hit Be'er Sheva for first time

Two Katyusha rockets fired by militants in the Gaza Strip exploded Tuesday evening in Be'er Sheva region. This was the furthest point eastward which a Palestinian projectile has managed to reach.

One of the rockets on the area struck a children's playground. Nobody was wounded in the attack, but 34 people were treated for shock.

More than 40 rockets at the western Negev on Tuesday, including one which reached the vicinity of the Bedouin town of Rahat and Ofakim, both west of Be'er Sheva.

Hamas took responsibility for the Katyushas aimed at Be'er Sheva, and its military wing said last night that it plans to fire at Israeli targets that are even further away as long as the IDF operation continues.

Rockets exploded continuously throughout the day, with a number striking the northern Negev cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod. One person was lightly wounded when two rockets exploded in Ashkelon in the late evening.

A rocket fired in the afternoon scored a direct hit on a kibbutz dining hall in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. There were no injuries in the incident, but the building sustained severe damage.

Channel Two television reported earlier Tuesday that rockets exploded in the western Negev towns of Kiryat Malachi and Kiryat Gat.

A Qassam rocket struck a home in the western Negev town of Sderot on Tuesday. One person sustained minor shrapnel wounds, and three others suffered shock.

No occupants were at home when the projectile slammed into the house. Another Qassam rocket hit the backyard of a Sderot home, while five others exploded in open areas near Sderot.

Other rockets caused some damage to hothouses in the Eshkol region.

The attacks came after Palestinian rockets had killed three Israelis on Monday, and wounded nine more, one of them critically.

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    Haute advice
    Sarkozy tells Peres IDF Gaza op does not strengthen Abbas.
    W speaks
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      1.   Spanish newspaper 14:12  |  Esther Sanz 30/12/08
      2.   I am leaving this country 15:00  |  Leaver 30/12/08
      3.   MORE JUSTIFICATION 19:22  |  Ian 30/12/08
      4.   My Condolences to the Victims of Hamas 19:57  |  Baruch Gold 30/12/08
      5.   Like Children Playing With Fire 19:58  |  Baruch Gold 30/12/08
      6.   Those who are merciful to the cruel... 21:04  |  Terry 30/12/08
      7.   oh, my G&d. Any flower killed? 21:15  |  sharon 30/12/08
      8.   Ian. Did you write `survival`? ha ha ha 21:18  |  sharon 30/12/08
      9.   #5 LITTLE BOY MENTALITIES 21:26  |  Ian 30/12/08
      10.   only Kadmia would consider stopping before the job is done 21:35  |  Avi 30/12/08
      11.   Response to #2 - That Is Why Hamas Does What It Does 21:37  |  Tod Zuckerman 30/12/08
      12.   To Terry 21:40  |  Marcos 30/12/08
      13.   re #2: leaver 21:41  |  Ariel 30/12/08
      14.   israhel should surrender and beg forgiveness 21:43  |  messiah 30/12/08
      15.   many more hidden surprises 21:48  |  anony 30/12/08
      16.   #7SHARON:YOU ARE A FOOL 21:59  |  Ian 30/12/08
      17.   are druze arabs? then why do they siase with the jews 22:03  |  anti-druze 30/12/08
      18.   Well, Hamas wasn`t lying 22:06  |  Mark Lincoln 30/12/08
      19.   Tel Aviv next 22:10  |  Tarzan 30/12/08
      20.   Sharon - your simple minded approach 22:18  |  ChanahS 30/12/08
      21.   A definitive moment 22:33  |  Mark Lincoln 30/12/08
      22.   So what is Barak, et al doing? Listening to Grossman? 22:36  |  Terry 30/12/08
      23.   My condolences to the people harmed by Israel 22:38  |  BBSNews 30/12/08
      24.   olmert stupid leader 22:56  |  ofer 30/12/08
      25.   Each rocket should be responded to. 22:58  |  Avi 30/12/08
      26.   Come on BBSNews, we knew this was coming 23:10  |  Mark Lincoln 30/12/08
      27.   To firecracker hit Israel 23:13  |  Dav 30/12/08
      28.   I do not consider war fun. It is serious business 23:57  |  Mark Lincoln 30/12/08
      29.   An inadvertent error in a previous post 00:01  |  mark Lincoln 31/12/08
      30.   Gaza Rockets 00:12  |  arm chair QB 31/12/08
      31.   9#, No Druze are not Arabs and neither are Kurds 00:15  |  Judah 31/12/08
      32.   New Europe, Israel not alone 00:17  |  Alex 31/12/08
      33.   Why Not Fire Back? 01:39  |  George 31/12/08
      34.   Iniquity of ideology recalls iniquity of reaction 01:54  |  Motty Levi 31/12/08
      35.   anti-druze 01:57  |  Daniel 31/12/08
      36.   "proportionality" is BS! 01:59  |  Arie 31/12/08
      37.   Mark Lincoln #10 02:05  |  Free Gilad Shalit 31/12/08
      38.   tarzan-you may be right 03:14  |  Arie 31/12/08
      39.   I start to like Angela ... 03:15  |  Hashem 31/12/08
      40.   . My condolences to the people harmed by Israel 03:19  |  Samk 31/12/08
      41.   Mark Lincoln 03:20  |  lady from USA 31/12/08
      42.   Haaretz Moderator 03:44  |  lady from USA 31/12/08
      43.   Lessons learned by enemies 05:01  |  Atoo 31/12/08
      44.   Be`er Sheva, huh? 06:31  |  Joe 31/12/08
      45.   34 trtd 4 shock thats still 30 less thn amount murdered by Isreal 07:16  |  Tupac 31/12/08
      46.   Yes Mark Lincoln we did know this was coming... 09:10  |  BBSNews 31/12/08
      47.   Be`er Sheva? 09:57  |  Peter 31/12/08
      48.   It is the intention that counts, not the results 09:57  |  David 31/12/08
      49.   Attack on Gaza 10:13  |  Ghada 31/12/08
      50.   No effective countermeasure to rockets & missiles 10:45  |  Fairplay 31/12/08
      51.   Obama in Sderot 10:48  |  Chrestomathy 31/12/08
      52.   what happened to that meeting 11:36  |  observer 31/12/08
      53.   My condolences to the people harmed by the pals 11:53  |  Adrian de Klerk 31/12/08
      54.   Cease-fire 12:11  |  Taly 31/12/08
      55.   For Lady from the USA, on Talkback Moderation # 30 12:56  |  Clickfool 31/12/08
      56.   George - why not fire back? 13:07  |  Mark Lincoln 31/12/08
      57.   #reply to #2 GOOD RIDDENCE TO YOU. 13:10  |  MJ 31/12/08
      58.   Lebanon war clone 13:11  |  Atoo 31/12/08
      59.   Fairplay - no missile defense deployed 13:13  |  Mark Lincoln 31/12/08
      60.   To Daniel (anti-druze) 13:13  |  Historian 31/12/08
      61.   For Historian, # 58 14:11  |  Israeli citizen 31/12/08
      62.   give back the golan? 14:19  |  marcy 31/12/08
      63.   To those who fear civilian casualties 14:48  |  Simon 31/12/08
      64.   To Leaver @ 2 - I am NOT Leaving this Country.... 14:49  |  Dagma 31/12/08
      65.   To Ian # 3 - Hamas will not become Hezbollah because 15:05  |  Josephus 31/12/08
      66.   Israel will lose as it did in Lebanon 15:10  |  BitterSweet 31/12/08
      67.   no2 15:21  |  YITZCHAK 31/12/08
      68.   Hamas is hurting - and reverting to what they do best 16:07  |  ChanahS 31/12/08
      69.   Gaza 16:29  |  Thomas 31/12/08
      70.   Israel will not win 16:30  |  sam 31/12/08
      71.   #70 Sam 16:58  |  TurkishJew 31/12/08
      72.   #69 Thomas 17:11  |  Turkish Jew 31/12/08
      73.   This is the result of your two state "solution" 17:15  |  Tim 31/12/08
      74.   Mark L - Why Not Fire Back? 17:43  |  George 31/12/08
      75.   Solution to Gaza 17:44  |  Sam 31/12/08
      76.   50 Fairplay - Counter-Measures Not Deployed 17:49  |  Mark of Lewiston 31/12/08
      77.   killing relations 18:03  |  saado 31/12/08
      78.   the Palestinians are studs 18:09  |  Joseph Lebanese 31/12/08
      79.   ChanaS #68 18:34  |  Michael T 31/12/08
      80.   Saado in Germany 18:34  |  ChanahS 31/12/08
      81.   gaza 18:36  |  lebanus 31/12/08
      82.   WAR IN GAZA 18:38  |  Maurice Zagha 31/12/08
      83.   joseph:"palestinians are studs" 19:11  |  Arie 31/12/08
      84.   No, it isn`t, Josephus # 65 19:27  |  Clickfool 31/12/08
      85.   This monstrous evil is ENTIRELY the result of Israeli retreat. 19:35  |  Chaim 31/12/08
      86.   to Joseph Lebanese 20:22  |  Rory 31/12/08
      87.   Olmert stupid leader 01:23  |  Sderot visitor 01/01/09
      88.   To David 01:37  |  New Zealander 01/01/09
      89.   Rory, give it up 01:44  |  Joseph Lebanese 01/01/09
      90.   To Meinhem 02:02  |  Sderot visitor 01/01/09
      91.   To Joseph Lebanese 02:09  |  Sderot visitor 01/01/09
      92.   Necessary action 06:07  |  Bruce 01/01/09
      93.   for all 09:55  |  peace 06/01/09
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