Israel Matzav

Grad rocket hits Ashkelon school

A school in Ashkelon was heavily damaged by a Grad-type Katyusha rocket on Saturday morning. Because the school was closed at the time, no one was hurt. Israel Radio reports that the students at that school will be taken on an all-day activity in Tel Aviv on Sunday (which is a school day in Israel). All other schools in Ashkelon will be open. Here's more from JPost.

Following the rocket fire, the Ashkelon Municipality reactivated its emergency command and control center, situated in a bomb shelter adjacent to city hall, where situation analysis meetings have been scheduled for Saturday.

The center had served as a hub for coordinating emergency responses to the large numbers of rockets fired at the city during Operation Cast Lead.

"In light of the situation, we can say with certainty that the school struck by a rocket will not be open tomorrow. We will have to find an alternative solution for students. The remainder of the schools will open on Sunday," Deputy Mayor Shlomo Cohen said.

Cohen added that the municipality "shared the concerns of parents in light of the deterioration of the situation, but we must remember that carrying on in a routine manner means bolstering the education system and the whole of the city of Ashkelon."

A tour of the school by Ashkelon Municipality safety officials found that shrapnel damage had reached parts of the building which had been designated as safe zones by the Home Front Command.

The municipality has been waiting for two weeks for the Ministry of Defense to approve rocket reinforcement construction plans drawn up to protect schools in the city, Cohen said, adding that the school struck in Saturday's attack was on the list of school waiting for protection.

"Ashkelon Municipality has demanded that the school be equipped with inexpensive basic rocket protection reinforcement. The reinforcement plans have been approved by the municipality and the Home Front Command. They have been sitting on the desks of Defense Ministry officials for two weeks, waiting for approval," Cohen said.

On Saturday evening, the Ashkelon Municipality, together with the city's parents' council decided that although the no classes would be held in the damaged school on Sunday, other schools would hold classes as usual.

Will the next government also leave the job of destroying Hamas unfinished?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:16 PM