Rocket hit Eilat amid reports of ceasefire deal
Operation Protective Edge Day 7: Little girls wounded in Be'er Sheva after Iron Dome stops rockets over Tel Aviv, south; rockets fired from Syria, Lebanon; soldier and 8-year-old boy hurt in separate attacks earlier.
Rockets hit southern Israel Monday evening, despite reports of a looming ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. A rocket fell in the southern town of Eilat at around midnight, lightly wounding five, with additional rockets falling on Gaza-area communities.
The attacks came after a violent day saw two young sisters wounded by debris that fell in the Be'er Sheva area and rockets from Syria and Lebanon smash into Israel. The IDF responded with fire at Syrian and Lebanese targets.
At around midnight sirens were sounded in Eilat, a tourist town at the southern tip of Israel. Five people were wounded after being hit by shrapnel, while at least two suffered anxiety.
The attacks came hours after an IDF soldier was lightly injured by mortar round fragments in the Eshkol Regional Council. Earlier rocket fire also saw an 8-year-old boy suffer injuries.
A little before 10 pm, a rocket salvo was fired at Be'er Sheva, with all three rockets falling in open areas. At the same time a rocket fell in an Eshkol Regional Council community and caused damage to a shed.
Earlier two sisters aged 11 and 13 were wounded by rocket debris in a community near Be'er Sheva, the police said. The two sustained moderate to serious injuries and one is still in serious condition.
Medical teams from Magen David Adom also treated an 81-year-old man who fell in the city as he ran for a bomb shelter during sirens in the area.
At around 6 pm rockets fired from Syria hit Israel, and caused a fire in the northern town where it hit. The IDF said two rockets were fired; rockets were also fired from the north Sunday, renewing the possibility of a northern front being opened.
At roughly the same time rockets were also fired at the southern capital of Be'er Sheva for the first time Monday, and fell in open areas.
At the same time, an anti-tank missile was fired at a Merkava IV tank near the northern Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported as a result of the attack.
At around 5 pm a rocket salvo was fired at the Tel Aviv area, with Iron Dome intercepting at least two of the rockets fired.
At around 4 pm a rocket from Gaza exploded in Sderot causing damage to vehicles and some homes. No injuries were reported as a result of the attack.
Earlier two rockets exploded just outside of the Eshkol Regional Council, and Iron Dome shot down at least one rocket from Gaza over Ashkelon.
Hamas took responsibility for the rocket attack on central Israel.
At around 3 pm two rockets also exploded outside Ofakim, though no warning siren had sounded, and two rockets fell in Eshkol. In a attack at roughly the same time, a soldier was wounded when a rocket hit the Eshkol Regional Council.
A rocket exploded in a residential area in Ashdod, lightly injuring an 8-year-old boy, while another rocket fell in an open area, and a third was intercepted by Iron Dome, in a barrage of rockets from Gaza. Code Red sirens had sounded in Ashdod, Eshkol, Gav Yavne, and Kiryat Malakhi at around 12:25 pm.
Militants in Gaza launched rockets at Ashkelon and Hof Ashkelon at around 11:20 am. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted two rockets over the skies of Ashkelon.
A fresh salvo of rockets was launched from Gaza towards southern Israel after 10:30 am on Monday. Code Red sirens blared in Ashkelon, Kiryat Malakhi, and Be'er Tuvia.
Hamas launched an unmanned aerial vehicle towards southern Israel on Monday morning from the Gaza Strip, as militants continued to fire rockets on Israeli cities and towns. The latest weapon in the arsenal of the Gaza-based terrorist organization was intercepted by a Patriot missile defense battery deployed in central Israel.
Israeli Navy forces were deployed to search the area. The UAV infiltration attempt caused Code Red sirens to blare in the Ashdod area, though incoming rocket salvos meant the alarm continued ringing for over two hours. Code Red was sounded in Ashkelon, Ashdod, Netivot, Hof Ashkelon, and Sdot Negev Regional Council at 8:30 am.
"Hamas is trying everything it can to produce some kind of achievement and it is crucial that we maintain our high state of readiness," Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said. "The shooting down of a drone this morning by our air defense system is an example of their efforts to strike at us in any way possible."
One rocket exploded near a home in Hof Ashkelon. No injuries were reported but damage was reported.
On Sunday afternoon, Hamas struck terror further into the heart of Israel than ever before, when it fired a rocket that hit near Haifa – some 150km from the Gaza Strip. Earlier in the day, a 16-year-old boy sustained serious injuries and a 50-year-old man was lightly injured by a rocket blast in Ashkelon.
Hamas also claimed responsibility for the rocket fire on the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, saying it launched a Fajr-5 rocket at Rishon LeZion, three M-75 rockets at Tel Aviv and one R-160 rocket.
Roi Kais, Ilana Curiel, Matan Tzuri and other Ynet reporters contributed to this report
