News wires
Seven people were wounded Monday in the early morning after a house in central Israel was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut short his visit to Washington and return to Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces said that the rocket, which struck a home in the community of Mishmeret, was fired from a Hamas position in the area of Rafah in the southern Strip, some 120 kilometers from where it hit. The IDF said the rocket was manufactured by the group.
The military has sent two brigades to southern Israel and is preparing to call up thousands of reservists, including some from the Air Defense Command, the Intelligence Corps and the Home Front Command.
United Hatzalah EMS volunteers responded to a rocket attack in the Sharon area. The volunteers who arrived at the scene reported that five people suffered physical injuries and are in moderate and light conditions and were treated at the scene and then transported to the hospital.
The family home was left in ruins, with tiles, broken furniture and debris scattered about. A shattered baby’s crib lay among the rubble and two family dogs died in the explosion.
“It’s a miracle that nobody got killed,” said Assi Dvilanski, a Magen David Adom paramedic who was one of the first responders at the scene.
The United Hatzalah Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit is currently treating numerous people who are reportedly suffering from shock.
United Hatzalah Chapter Head of the Tel Mond region said “Our volunteers treated one woman in her 50s who was moderately injured and an additional four people who were lightly injured. Teams from the Psychotrauma Unit are active at the scene treating people for emotional stress and shock.”
A senior Hamas official told Haaretz that the fact that no group has claimed the attack was a sign that it was the result of a mistake or an impulsive decision by an individual within one of the groups in Gaza. He futher said that if the Israeli response results only in material damages and no loss of life, the groups in Gaza will react with restraint, but that there was concern over a potential snowball effect.
IMAGINE: You wake up to the sound of air-raid sirens & realize that terrorists fired a rocket at your home.
This morning, a home in central Israel was destroyed when it was directly hit by a homemade rocket fired by #Hamas from over 75 miles away in #Gaza.#StopHamas pic.twitter.com/yhDWWobnLW
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 25, 2019
Moshiach now ! Mamash a ness