Israel: Rocket Launched From Gaza Lands Near Gan Yavne

Written by Matan Tzuri, Yoav Zitun, Itay Blumenthal, Elior Levy, Moran Azulay

Code red sirens sounded in Ashdod and Lachish near Kiryat Gat in southern Israel Tuesday evening just after 9 p.m. An IDF Spokesperson confirmed that one rocket fired from Gaza had landed near Gan Yavne.

Tuesday’s attack was the first time since last year’s 50-day Operation Protective Edge in Gaza that a Grad rocket was fired into Israeli territory. It was initially unclear who was responsible for the rocket fire, but an IDF source said, “We hold Hamas responsible for everything that happens in the Strip.”

Police said that there were no reports of injuries or damage sustained in the attack.

Hamas media outlets reported that the organization began evacuating all its security headquarters for fear of an Israeli reprisal to the attack. The evacuation was expected to continue into the morning hours.

The IDF confirmed the attack and that the rocket had landed in an open area, but said that it had not yet been found.

One resident in Lachish said, “There was a siren and we heard a big explosion.” A woman in Be’er Tuvia however, just several kilometers from Gan Yavne and the site where the rocket reportedly struck said, “I didn’t here any sirens, just a really loud explosion.”

Another resident from Kibbutz Hatzor said, “We heard a really loud explosion, so loud that the walls of our house shook. It was really scary.”

Zionist Union MK Omer Bar-Lev, a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, recently warned that Hamas had resumed digging tunnels and that at least one may have already crossed the border into Israeli territory.

SOURCE: Ynet News