Home hit in Ashkelon
Home hit in AshkelonPolice Spokesman's Unit

A Hamas rocket scored a direct hit on a home in Ashkelon at about 6:30 Tuesday morning, causing light injuries to six members of the family that lives in it and to dozens of residents of nearby buildings. One of them, an eight year old boy, was reportedly injured in the face by broken glass. The rocket also caused a great amount of damage to the home and caused a water pipe to burst outside the home.

The rocket reportedly slammed into the master bedroom of the home just seconds after the parents left it, to wake up their children and lead them to the safe space.

Ashkelon resident John Daly recorded the moment of impact and uploaded the video to Facebook. "Two blocks over and a direct hit," he wrote. "Alarm goes off and my cat knew we were headed to film so she went to the window with me. You can hear the sound of glass shattering up and down the street from the shockwave. The 'shaking' of the camera is from the explosive force, look at the tree - it is shaking as well."

While national news outlets initially put the number of people hurt at six, Ashkelonet, a local news outlet, was among the first to report that 50 people were brought to Barzilai Hospital following the rocket attack. Of these, it said, 21 suffered light physical injuries and 29 suffered from emotional shock. This number was later corroborated by other outlets. Most of the injuries are apparently from broken glass, as the result of windows that shattered.

The photos show damage to the home as well as damage to apartments in a nearby building.

Photos: Flash 90.

Two rockets reportedly struck empty areas in Ashdod. Another rocket was reportedly intercepted over the Dan Bloc, or Greater Tel Aviv.

No casualties were reported in the Tel Aviv region as Hamas continues its policy of purposely targeting Israel's civilians.

Hamas's incessant attacks on Israel despite 50 days of intense IDF attacks on Gaza's terror infrastructure are creating anger and frustration in the Israeli populace, and a feeling of exasperation with the country's leadership. 

A new poll released by the Hebrew-language Channel 2 news site on Monday reveals that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's approval rating has plummeted dramatically in the last four days.

Just 38% of Israelis responded that they are satisfied with Netanyahu, as opposed to 50% who are dissatisfied. Four days earlier, Netanyahu's support stood at 55%.

The sudden nosedive corresponds to a period during which four-year-old Daniel Tregerman hy''d was murdered by mortar fire in his Kibbutz Nahal Oz home last Friday, contributing to a feeling of government neglect in providing security to its citizens. 

Tregerman's family and others returned to their homes in the Gaza Belt after the Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, encouraged them to do so, in the belief that a ceasefire with Hamas was imminent.

Gantz delivered what has been dubbed "the anemone speech" at the time. “The summer is hot here," he said in the south. "The fall will follow it. The fields will become green, and a 'red south' in the positive sense of the word, of anemones and flowers and stability, will be here, and will remain for many years."

Gantz and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon made matters worse by deciding not to visit Nahal Oz on Saturday due to "security considerations."