Rocket Explodes South of Ashkelon

A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip exploded in a settled area in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council late last night. There were no injuries reported, but light damage was sustained.

Police sappers located the remnants of the rocket this morning.

Just after midnight, the red alert siren went off in several communities in the regional council’s area. Some of the residents in one of the settled areas reported that they heard a large blast.

“I don’t want to imagine what would have happened if there would have been children there,” one of the residents said.

Police officers and the bomb squad unit from Lakhish Region started searching immediately, and at dawn today they found the rocket.

Citizens residing in the area where the rocket landed do not remember there being such a significant blast since the end of Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012. Even though not all of the residents heard the explosion, the sight of the sappers in the area caused panic.

“We were very lucky that it happened in the middle of the night, when no one’s wandering in the streets,” a resident said. “It completely caught us by surprise. We got used to the quiet since Pillar of Defense.” Read more at Ynet News Israel.

{Matzav.com Israel}