Rockets land in Ashkelon; 2 women lightly hurt
Seven rockets fired at Israel early Friday morning after relatively quiet night in south. Four rockets explode in Ashkelon area, another three land in Sdot Negev Regional Council. Two women injured by shrapnel, several people suffer shock
One of the rockets directly hit a house in Ashkelon. Two women were lightly injured by shrapnel and several people suffered shock. Damage was caused to the building.
Hamas' military wing claimed responsibility for that attack. Shortly after the attack, Israel Air Force fighter jets located and destroyed the rocket launching pads used to strike Ashkelon. The IDF said the fire emanated from northern Gaza.
House hit by rocket in Ashkelon (Photo: Ronen Medzini)
About an hour after the first barrage, three Qassams landed in the Sderot area. no injuries or damage were reported.
The mother-in-law f the woman whose house was hit told Ynet that the family was staying at a nearby shelter because their apartment did not have a fortified room. "The rocket landed on their son's room. Luckily they weren't at home, luckily they're alive," she said.
Residents who live nearby said that the explosion was clearly heard from the local shelter.
The morning's attacks followed a relatively quiet night in the Gaza vicinity. The last rocket was fired at Beersheba Thursday night at about 10:30 pm, causing no injuries or damage.
A total of 52 rockets were fired at Israel throughout Thursday, seven of them at Beersheba.
The IAF continued its airstrikes in the Gaza Strip during the night. A mosque in the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza was hit late Thursday night. The army said that the place was being used to store weapons and as a communications outpost.
Palestinian sources reported that Israeli aircraft hit 15 houses belonging to Hamas militants early Friday morning.
They said the Israelis either warned nearby residents by phone or fired a warning missile to reduce civilian casualties. Twelve people were hurt in the attacks, hospital officials said.
Ronen Medzini and Reuters contributd to the report
