50 Israeli Civilians, Including Children, Reportedly Hospitalized By Hamas Rocket Strike
Fifty Israeli citizens, including children, have been hospitalized after a Hamas rocket directly hit a building in Ashkelon, in the south of Israel.
Six members from the same family were lightly injured by the rocket at around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday as they scrambled to the air-raid shelter when they heard the siren. Dozens of residents from nearby buildings suffered from extreme shock and other injuries, also requiring medical attention.
The house that took the direct hit was almost completely leveled as extensive damage was reported. An 8-year-old boy suffered facial injuries when he was struck by glass shattered by the blast; fortunately, no one was killed in the attack.
The rocket apparently slammed into the master bedroom of the home just seconds after the parents left it to wake up their children and lead them to the shelter.
A resident from Ashkelon, John Daly, recorded the moment of impact and uploaded the video to Facebook. He said:
“Two blocks over and a direct hit. Alarm goes off and my cat knew we were headed to film so she went to the window with me. You can hear the sound of glass shattering up and down the street from the shock wave. The ‘shaking’ of the camera is from the explosive force, look at the tree – it is shaking as well.”
While national news outlets initially put the number of people hurt at only six, Ashkelonet, a local news outlet, was among the first to report 50 people were brought to Barzilai Hospital following the rocket attack.
As well as the direct hit, two rockets reportedly struck open areas in Ashdod, and another rocket was reportedly intercepted over the Greater Tel-Aviv region.
Unfortunately, four-year-old Daniel Tregerman who was killed by mortar fire in his Kibbutz Nahal Oz home last Friday, he died from wounds he sustained from shrapnel.
No doubt, Israel’s response to the latest attacks by Hamas in Gaza will be swift and hard, as the Israeli Defense Forces eliminate the operatives and heads of Hamas one by one, while destroying rocket launching sites and store rooms on a daily basis.
