(JNi.media) On Tuesday night, a rocket was launched at Southern Israel from the Gaza Strip. The rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome Aerial Defense System. No injuries or damage have been reported.
An ISIS affiliate in Gaza claimed responsibility for the launch.
Alarms sounded in Ashdod, Ashkelon Coast Regional Council, and the Yavne and Lachish regions before the rocket landed. This was the first time since the 2014 operation Protective Edge that alarms sounded in these areas. No injuries or damage were reported.
In response, the IAF targeted four Hamas terror sites in the Gaza Strip, IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner announced. “This evening, the third day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, a rocket was fired at Southern Israel sending the residents of Ashdod as well as several surrounding communities to nearby bomb-shelters. Hamas is responsible and will be held accountable for every attack emanating from the Gaza Strip. The IDF will continue defending all Israelis who are repeatedly attacked by such blatant acts of aggression,” Lerner said in an email statement.
Tuesday night’s launch was the fourth such event in recent weeks, following an attack a week ago Monday, when a rocket exploded in an open area in the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council. The rocket did not cause the activation of the “color red” alert system because there was no fear that the rocket would fall in populated areas.
A few days earlier, a rocket exploded in Sderot and the fragments caused damage to a bus and an adjacent building. Also, a woman in her 40s was treated for shock. A few hours later, the Iron Dome system intercepted a rocket in skies of Ashkelon. The ISIS affiliated group took responsibility for that attack.