The rocket which fell in the center of Netivot this past Monday caused damage in the surrounding area. This was just a prelude and cause of the major operation launched by the Israeli Army on Wednesday night.
Electric lines were ripped, resulting in a power failure which caused a shutdown in the shopping centers, the Bank Leumi branch and local shops. The Kupat Cholim branch also had to close down.
At 7:30 a.m., when everyone was getting organized for a new day, a terrific noise was heard in the center of town. A rocket fell on a sidewalk, only a few meters away from an apartment house, and very miraculously, no one was hurt. A moment after the following silence, the voice of a bearded elderly resident was heard shouting, "The living should take this to heart. This is not a Grad rocket but a message from Heaven! Every Grad is a miracle!" The pure and clear reaction of a believing Jew!
The falling of the rocket was followed by serious deliberation of educational institutions whether to carry on as usual or be on the alert for more possible rockets. Torah institutions of Netivot operated as usual, however. Rav Chanoch Zeidel, head of the Mishkan HaTorah institutions of Netivot, told Yated Ne'eman that the kollelim and yeshivos all maintained their usual schedules. The rabbis have instructed that educational institutions obey orders from the [pikud haoref] military command which dictate that only those institutions with necessary protective reinforcement could open their gates. The Bais Yaakov schools, lacking proper shelters etc., had to close down.
