VIDEO - Two Qassam rockets landed Thursday evening in Sderot. One of the rockets landed near a school, while the other fell at the heart of town. Several people suffered from shock, and two complained of earaches and were evacuated to the Barzilay Hospital in Ashkelon.
A youth movement after-school activity was taking place inside the community center at the time the rocket struck.
One of the workers at the community center told Ynet that "the children who attend after-school classes were at the community center at the time the Qassam landed. We assembled them afterwards."
The rocket caused some damage to the school located next to the community center: Windshields were shattered and the building sustained slight damages.
Shattered glass at Sderot community center (Photo: Amir Cohen)
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The al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad's military wing, claimed responsibility for the shooting.
Odelia Peretz, a Sderot resident, told Ynet, "The alarm went off and we heard a very loud explosion."
Her brother Gal, who was close to the place where the rocket landed, said: "We were driving and suddenly heard the Color Red alert. We ran quickly to the community center and stood close to the wall. I looked up to see where the rocket will fall, I saw a flare and then heard a blast. It was really frightening, we were thrown against the wall and the Qassam landed right behind us, on a basketball court next to the community center and the school."
Kobi Cohen, another witness, described the attack: "There was a huge explosion. The Qassam landed in the community center's basketball court. There were no children in the area."
The recent attack brings the number of rockets fired at Israel since Wednesday noon to 11.
Three Qassam rockets were fired at Israel
Thursday morning, following seven rockets launched Wednesday.
Two of the rockets fired Thursday landed in Palestinian territory, and one landed in Israel.
The Sderot Municipality reported that the Color Red alert system identified the launching of a rocket at the western Negev at about 6:20 a.m.
Wednesday saw a record number of Qassam rockets launched in one day during the ceasefire which was declared last month. In total, seven rockets were fired on Wednesday and during the night, landing in the western Negev.
At least 40 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip since the truce came into force.
Hanan Greenberg contributed to the report
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