1 wounded in Qassam attack
Fifth rocket fired since morning hours by Palestinian terrorists in north Gaza lands near western Negev kibbutz; resident sustains moderate shrapnel injuries in attack, several others suffer shock. Islamic Jihad: Attack response to Israeli crimes in West Bank
The victim, who suffered severe shrapnel wounds all over his body, was treated by emergency medical teams at the scene then transferred to Ashkelon's Barzilai Hospital.
Eyewitnesses said the rocket, the fifth fired by Palestinian terrorists since the morning hours, landed near a gas station.
The al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its men fired an upgraded Quds 3 rocket as “a response to the Israeli crimes and the targeted killing of Palestinian activists in the West Bank.”
Meters from gas station
Worse damages were narrowly evaded as the rocket landed just meters from a gas station. The injured man was employed at the gas station's carwash.
She'ar Hanegev Regional Council head Alon Shuster, whose offices are just a few dozen meters from the site of the attack, described the incident.
"We heard the whistle then the massive blast," Shuster told Ynet. "I hurried out and I saw teams treating the injured man and the shock victims. We were so lucky, because if the rocket had hit just a few meters away, inside the gas station, there could have been a massive disaster here."
"No one (from the government) has called yet to speak with us about what's happening here, and we feel alone," he added.
Weekend of Qassams
Earlier Sunday four rockets landed in open areas in the western Negev, causing no damages or injuries. Two landed near Sderot and two landed near the border with south Gaza.
Over the weekend Palestinian Qassam cells fired five rockets at Israeli communities, one of which caused severe damage to a Sderot home. The family was not at home at the time, and no one was hurt.
On Saturday Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal declared that the rocket fire would not stop, and he rejected an American proposal which called on the Palestinians to stop Qassam attacks and weapons smuggling and on Israel to ease Palestinian travel restrictions.
Dorit Siton, Hanan Greenberg and Ali Waked contributed to the report
