Nine landed Saturday night in the Eshkol region opposite S. Gaza, damaging schools, 3 in Sderot further north. Two Israeli soldiers were injured by a Palestinian anti-tank missile in Gaza against a bulldozer preparing the ground for Israel tank positions near Beit Hanoun in the north.

There was also a gunfight without casualties. The IDF denies the Palestinian claim that 9 civilians were killed in Gaza.

Seven Israelis were injured in missile attacks Saturday, most in Sderot whose streets were deserted. During the day, the Air Force hit Palestinian missile squads south of Hanoun. Sderot Mayor Elie Moyal demands that the government declare the locations abutting Gaza a war zone. He said schools will stay closed until they are safe for children to attend.

Some ministers urge Israel’s military measures expanded to ground incursions of the Gaza Strip. The military's current guidelines specify aerial surgical attacks on Hamas military installations, missile squads, weapons production infrastructure, arms depots, training centers in which Iranian instructors are involved and attacks on senior operatives.

Southern district police chief Uri Bar-Lev reported Ashkelon, the port town north of Gaza, is gearing up for attacks by missiles with extended ranges of 16km.

Hamas has fired 120 Qassams against Israel in four days, during which more than a 100 people were injured and 4,500 civilians left or were evacuated. Schoools and workplaces are shut.