Rocket from Gaza salvo falls short, direct hit on UN school for Palestinians

IDF’s Iron Dome intercepts two Gaza rockets in the third straight day of attacks emanating from the terrorist enclave, with a third landing in an open field in southern Israel while yet another rocket falls short, hitting a UNRWA school in Gaza.

By Matan Tzuri

 

Three consecutive Code Red Alerts were sounded Wednesday evening in the southern city of Sderot and the Negev Regional Council near the Gaza Strip, before the Iron Dome missile defense shot down two rockets, and another exploded in open space in Eshkol. It is the third day straight that quiet has been interrupted in Israeli towns and cities bordering the Palestinian enclave.

A statement released by the IDF said that two rockets were shot down by the Iron Dome defense system deployed in the area, as residents ran to bomb shelters, not for the first time this week when the first siren rang out at 8:34pm.

Hamas photo of rocket fired from family home makes it a target for the IAF – IDF Facebook page

Shortly after, a third rocket landed and exploded open space in the Eshkol Regional Council before any Code Red Alert Siren was sounded.

It later emerged that another rocket launched from Gaza landed in an UNRWA school in Beit Hanoun the strip, causing damage to one of the classrooms.

Paramedics arriving at the scene provided medical treatment to a 30-year-old man from Sderot who sustained injuries to his leg while running for shelter. Another two were treated for shock.

Sderot mayor urged the IDF to step up its response to the rocket attacks, imploring it “to mercilessly hit the terror organizations.”

The attack comes less than 24 hours after the Israel Air Force attacked a Hamas military complex in the southern Gaza Strip overnight Tuesday in response to rocket fire at the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council.

The Code Red rocket alert siren was sounded at 10:47pm Tuesday in Yad Mordechai and Netiv HaAsara, located near the Gaza Strip’s southern border.

Shortly after that, a rocket was found after it had fallen in an open area in Netiv HaAsara. A second rocket was found in an open area outside a community in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. Police bomb squad carried out a controlled explosion of the rocket. No one was hurt and no damage was reported.

The upgraded Iron Dome – Photo: Israel’s Ministry of Defense

Late Monday night, the Iron Dome intercepted a rocket fired at Ashkelon. Earlier in the day, a rocket fell in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council.

On Friday night, three rockets were fired at Sderot, with the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepting one, while another fell in a street, causing damage to several vehicles. A day later, the remains of a third rocket were found in a kindergarten, which caused damage to the structure.

 

View original Ynet publication at:
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5056572,00.html