By Yechiel Spira for YWN (07:00 ISRAEL TIME):

No less than fifteen rockets fired from Hamas-controlled Gaza pounded Sderot and the surrounding area during the night. Eight of the rockets hit Sderot. There are no reports of physical injuries although victims are being treated for hysteria.

One of the rockets struck a storage area adjacent to a building resulting in significant damage. Three addition rockets landed in open areas near Sderot and a twelfth appears to have fallen short, landing in Gaza.

The last days were relatively quiet, although tense, with one rocket hitting Ashkelon on Tuesday, an hour after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert left the city. It was during this solidarity visit that the prime minister stated, “It is not as if the rocket attacks are a new reality. This has been Israel’s history for 60 years,” seemingly trying to play down the bleak realities of the southern areas today. Olmert did add that the attacks are not likely to cease in the near future.

The air force during the night targeted a terror cell preparing to fire rockets, reporting a direct hit.

Elsewhere, IDF soldiers continued counter-terror efforts throughout Judea and Samaria, arresting 12 PA residents suspected of involvement in terrorist activities. No injuries are being reported.

During the past 24-hour period, Israel Border Police have arrested 305 PA residents found inside pre-1967 Green Line Israel illegally. 72, with suspected involvement in security crimes, were questioned by police and security officials. The remainder was sent back over the Green Line to PA autonomous areas. Eight of the suspects are wanted for questioning by the GSS (General Security Service/ Shin Bet).

Also arrested by border police were a number of Israelis for providing employment to the PA illegals who lack the required security permit to cross the Green Line, along with others who assisted them in transport.

[The author has been a member of the Israeli media for over a decade, primarily covering security related events.]