MK Haim Yellin
MK Haim YellinKnesset Spokesperson

MK Haim Yellin (Yesh Atid), a resident of the Gaza border region and former head of the Eshkol Regional Council, on Tuesday evening called on the government to respond to the Grad rocket attack on southern Israel.

"There needs to be a response from the IDF to the rocket fire from Gaza. There has to be a clear price tag according to which the policy towards Gaza is conducted. We must disarm the Gaza Strip in exchange for its rehabilitation, while the people there have nothing to lose. We here will continue to suffer," he said.

Air raid sirens sounded in towns across southern Israel Tuesday evening at 9:02 p.m., as the IDF confirmed that at least one Grad rocket fired from Gaza struck near the community of Gan Yavneh, near Ashdod.

Some residents of the south reported seeing Iron Dome missile defense batteries deploying to intercept at least one incoming rocket.

Sirens were heard in Ashdod, Ashkelon and in numerous towns and villages in the Lachish and Hof Ashkelon regions close to Gaza.

No injuries have been reported.

Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev (Likud) laid the blame squarely at the door of Gaza's Hamas rulers.

"It is a shame that Hamas are trying again to escalate the security situation in the south," she said, adding, "The State of Israel must respond to every instance of fire towards the citizens of Israel."

Meanwhile, MK Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) said the government’s weakness was to blame for the rocket attack.

"A government that isn't willing to write in its fundamental positions that it intends to overthrow the Hamas regime in Gaza is a government that broadcasts weakness," said Liberman, who demanded toppling Hamas as a condition to joining the coalition, a condition that was rejected and partially led to his decision not to join.

He added, "If it (the government) won't regain its composure, it would be better for it to end its term right now, immediately after it began, for the sake of the security of Israeli citizens and for the strength of the state of Israel."