On Sunday night at 9:01pm, Hamas launched 10 rockets at Yavne, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and a variety of other locations in Southern Israel, according to various reports in the Israeli media.
By Rachel Avraham
On Sunday night at 9:01pm, Hamas launched 10 rockets at Yavne, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and a variety of other locations in Southern Israel, according to various reports in the Israeli media. The IDF told Arutz Sheva: “Following the sirens that sounded at 21:01-21:02 in the Lakhish area, approximately ten projectiles were identified crossing into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Most of them were successfully intercepted. The details are under review.”
The IDF later added, “Approximately five projectiles were successfully intercepted by the IAF. Falls were identified in several areas. IDF Home Front Command soldiers are dispatched to the scenes and are operating in cooperation with Israeli security forces.”
Missile shrapnel landed in Ashkelon, damaging several vehicles, Arutz Sheva reported. According to the report, security forces were deployed to the scenes. The Police stated following the incident: “The police are currently tending to fallen shrapnel at a scene in the Ashkelon area. Police sappers from the Southern District and officers from the Ashkelon police station are searching for additional remnants to remove threats to the public.”
A man in his 30s sustained light wounds from rocket shrapnel following Hamas’s rocket barrage in Israel’s South, Israel’s emergency response service, Magen David Adom (MDA), reported to the Jerusalem Post. According to the report, MDA said its paramedics transferred to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon the man who was in light condition. They added that paramedics also treated a number of individuals who were suffering from anxiety and who had been injured while running to shelter. According to Haaretz, five people who were reported to be lightly wounded were taken to a nearby hospital for further treatment.
Magen David Adom Director-General Eli Bin told Yedioth Achronot that three people were lightly wounded at the site of a rocket impact in Ashkelon, where several vehicles were damaged. One person was injured by shrapnel, while the other two were apparently hurt while running to a shelter. According to the report, the Ashkelon municipality claimed that the injuries were caused by a direct rocket hit as opposed to interception debris.
“If anyone needed a reminder of why we must not stop just before the destruction of Hamas, they received it this evening in the form of rocket launches from Gaza to the cities of the South,” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich shared on X/Twitter shortly after, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“We promised the citizens of Israel that Hamas will be destroyed and the residents of the South will be able to live in peace and security for many years,” Smotrich added, noting, “we will stand by that.”
In response to the rocket fire, Haaretz reported that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that he “instructed the IDF to extend” the military operation and “deal Hamas a heavy blow in response to the launches. For every shrapnel that harms a resident of Ashkelon, the Hamas murderers must pay a heavy price.”
Photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qassam_rocket#/media/File:Flickr_-_Israel_Defense_Forces_-_Eight_Qassam_Launchers_in_Gaza.jpg
