Following the renewed rocket fire into southern Israel on Wednesday evening, some southern residents are calling on the government to act before the situation worsens. They insist that the same pattern repeats itself year after year and the firing of a single rocket cannot be tolerated.

Ashdod City Hall officials decided to cancel school on Wednesday, 9 Sivan in schools that are not fortified or use caravan buildings. This includes a number of chareidi mosdos such as Seminar Vishnitz and Beis Yaakov HaChadash.

The Sadigura Rebbe Shlita was visiting in Ashdod when the attack occurred. Following the attack the rebbe stated the attack is a warning from HKBH regarding the chilul Shabbos in the city’s Big Center shopping mall. “We now witnessed a miracle in the merit of the tefilos heard in the city last week. The residents must see the message from Shomayim. Shabbos is the mezuzah protecting Am Yisrael” the rebbe explained, referring to last week’s atzeres tefilla attended by thousands in light of the mall’s decision to operate on Shabbos.

On the secular level, officials feel the rockets fired into southern Israel were fired by the Islamic Jihad and not the Hamas regime. Hence the IAF during the night targeted Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza.

The Shomrei Emunim Rebbe Shlita added to the words of the Sadigura Rebbe, stated “השבת מקור הברכה ומיניה מתברכין כל שיתא יומין and there is no doubt that in the merit of the willingness of residents to come out to defend Shabbos, primarily the merit of the tefilos of thousands of city residents, we merited seeing Chasdei Hashem Ayin B’Ayin”.

Hamas officials in Gaza report that the terrorists responsible for the rocket fire are in custody. It should also be pointed out that Hamas continues almost daily rocket testing directed at the sea, preparing for the next round of warfare with Israel.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)