'Holiday Greetings' as Southern Israel Shelled by Terrorists

Holiday greetings were fired from Gaza as terrorists launched a barrage of rockets and mortar shells at southern Israel Monday.

Jews throughout the country marked Simchat Torah, a joyous celebration in which the annual cycle of reading the holiest book in Judaism is completed and commenced once more.

But in the south of the country, Israelis were instead repeatedly forced to race into bomb shelters. Terrorist groups shelled communities in the Eshkol Regional Council district, and launched dozens of rockets at the region.

At least two buildings were damaged, and a significant number of goats were killed when a missile struck a children's animal corner in one kibbutz. A mortar shell also exploded close to a synagogue in a barrage that was fired at about 5:50 a.m.

The Izz a-Din al-Qassam military wing of Gaza's ruling Hamas terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attacks, together with the Islamic Jihad-linked Ansar al-Quds terrorist group.

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