2 lightly injured in rocket attack

Palestinians fired several rocket barrages towards southern Israel on Saturday morning. Two people were lightly injured by shrapnel after a rocket hit a building in the port city of Ashdod. A woman suffered shock as a rocket landed in an open field in the Kiryat Malachi area.

More than 16 rockets have been fired into southern Israel by Palestinian gunmen since Saturday morning. One of the rockets hit a house in the seaside city of Ashkelon. There were no reports of injuries, but damage was caused.

The rocket fired at Ashdod hit a building in the city. Two people were lightly injured by shrapnel and several suffered shock. Magen David Adom rescue crews were dispatched to the area and attended to the injured. The power supply to the area was cut off by Israel Electric Corporation teams.

Or, 14, who lives in the building which was hit, told Ynet that "there was a siren and I ran with my parents and sisters to the stairwell, as we were trained to do. Suddenly there was a loud explosion. It was really scary.

"After the blast we ran out of the building and police and ambulances arrived. Who would think that such a thing could happen? I never thought a missile would land on my house."

Terrified woman hugs soldier near rocket landing site in Ashdod (Photo: Avi Roccah)

Yigal Zohar of the city's firefighting services arrived at the rocket landing site with his men. "We entered with reinforced teams and a crane in order to check the building. When we came in people were panicking, naturally, in the stairwell. People were running towards the exit terrified. We evacuated them and helped them leave in the safest way," he told Ynet.

He went on to describe what he saw in the building: "There was a big hole in the wall near the stairwell. We're lucky no one was standing there, otherwise he would have likely been hurt.

"There was heavy damage in the apartment, after many pieces of concrete collapsed. At the end of the operation we checked the place again and broke into locked doors in order to ensure that no one was trapped inside or couldn't get out for some reason."

'We ran with buckets to put out the fire'

One rocket landed in the backyard of a house in the seaside city of Ashkelon, without causing injuries. A fire broke out in the yard.

Ronen Strogoli, who lives near the house hit in Ashkelon, arrived at the scene of the attack immediately afterwards. "I heard a siren and ran outside, because I don’t have a fortified room at home and had nowhere to hide.

"When the siren ended I saw the missile pass over my head, just above me, and then I heard a loud explosion, I ran after the train and saw smoke coming out of the house yard. A number of neighbors gathered in the area and we ran with buckets to put out the fire until the rescue forces arrived… It was really scary."

Rescue teams in Ashdod (Photo: Avi Roccah)

Two rockets launched from the Gaza Strip at around 10 am exploded in the Netivot area. There were no injuries, but the road sustained light damage. Three rockets exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

The Color Red alert system was activated in the southern town of Sderot at around 6 am, followed by a rocket landing in an open area near the city.

At around 8:30 am, another rocket exploded in a kibbutz within the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council. There were no reports of injuries, but a building sustained damage.

The kibbutz coordinator told Ynet that the rocket had landed near the dining hall, which was empty at the time. "We haven't had breakfast on Saturdays for years now. One of the walls sustained damage, but there were no injuries. We have been used to these things for years and we'll continue acting as usual."