More than 100 rockets from Gaza rain down on southern Israel, injuring 19

JTA
Published November 12, 2018

This is a developing story.

JERUSALEM (JTA) — More than 100 rockets and mortars fired from Gaza rained down Monday evening on southern Israel, including one that hit a bus, seriously injuring a young man.

The Israel Defense Forces responded by launching attacks on Hamas sites in Gaza.

The man, 19, was standing next the bus when it was hit by a mortar. He was evacuated to Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center. At least 18 other Israelis have been were injured by shrapnel and flying glass, the public broadcaster Kan reported.

Rockets directly hit a home in Netivot, and homes were hit in Sderot and Ashkelon, where the house caught fire. A gas leak in Sderot next to a corner supermarket was ignited by a rocket and firefighters were working to put out the fire.

Several of the rockets fired from Gaza were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. Extra batteries had arrived in the area earlier in the day following clashes on the border after an Israeli army special forces operation was exposed on Sunday night.

The rockets set off Code Red sirens throughout southern Israeli communities, including for the first time in decades in Ein Gedi near the Dead Sea. The rockets began falling at 4:30 p.m., with more than 100 fired by 6.

The Israeli army called on residents of Gaza border communities to remain in place in their bomb shelters and safe rooms, and on the residents of the northern Negev, including Beersheba, to remain near their shelters.