Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket into the southern city of Beersheba on Wednesday morning, which landed and exploded in the courtyard of a house, causing serious damage but no injuries.
The Israel Defense Forces said it had identified two launches coming from Gaza. One of them targeted Beersheba, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Strip. A second rocket was fired into the sea and landed on the coast of a large city in the Tel Aviv area.
Rocket attacks on Beersheba are rare and considered a major escalation. The attack came after Israel’s defense minister warned that the military was preparing for a major attack on Gaza to end the ongoing violence.
Rocket warning sirens sounded at 3:40 a.m. and residents reported hearing a loud bang. The rocket landed in the courtyard of a private house. No one was injured in the explosion, but five people were being treated for anxiety.
A doctor from Magen David Adom said that among those treated were a mother and her three children. The woman slightly injured her head when she fell running into the air-raid shelter when the siren went off, he said, adding that they were taken to a hospital.
