IDF attacks terror targets following rocket barrage from Gaza Strip

The IDF attacked terror targets within the Gaza Strip on Friday night after a residential home in the southern Israeli city of Sderot sustained a direct hit by a rocket. The attack was part of a barrage fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip on Friday night.

The Sderot Municipality spokesperson confirmed in a statement that there was damage to the building but there were no injuries as all individuals in the home were in the bomb shelter.

“When I arrived at the street there was chaos, nearby there where numerous vehicles with shattered windscreens. The residents of the building, a 40 year old couple with their children where in a nearby building. The told us that they immediately entered the protected area and left a few minutes later. They were not injured and did not require medical treatment,” said MDA Paramedic Alex Kosinov.

Incoming rocket alert sirens were activated in Sderot and other Gaza border communities beginning at 9pm on Friday night.

According to the IDF, seven projectiles were fired from the Hamas-run coastal enclave during the first barrage and all were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. Following the first barrage Palestinian media reported that an IDF tank shelled a Hamas observation post in the Strip.

Shortly afterwards three more projectiles were fired during the second wave, with only one intercepted.

Magen David Adom (MDA) reported that it treated a 65-year-old woman in mild condition who fell while trying to reach a bomb shelter. The woman was evacuated to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashdod for medical treatment. Several others were treated for shock.

Earlier in the day some 65,000 Palestinians participated in the weekly Great Return March riots along the Gaza border fence. Palestinian Wafa News Agency reported 88 injuries but no deaths.

On Thursday evening a rocket was launched towards southern Israeli with incoming rocket sirens activated in the communities of Beeri and Alumim. The rocket landed in an open field, causing no damage or injuries.

Tamar Beeri contributed to this report.