Aharon Buchris
Aharon BuchrisBarzilai spokesperson

Aharon Buchris, the father whose family was wounded when a Gazan rocket hit their home on Saturday, described the incident from his hospital bed.

"We were sitting in the living room, and the glass fell on us," Buchris, 50, said. "The entire house was filled with smoke, and we were filled with blood. We got shrapnel in us, my daughters were also injured. We were shocked."

Buchris' wife, 45, suffered shrapnel wounds to her legs. Their 15-year-old daughter suffered wounds to her face, their 14-year-old sister suffered wounds to her legs.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said, "Our loved ones, who live near the Gaza border, are protecting Israel. This Shabbat (Sabbath), too, we were with you. We tense up at every siren, we support our forces when they return from every mission. These days are not simple, and we will not allow them to become routine."

"Your strong stance and your strength are amazing. They are an inspiration for all of us. Even when the sirens go off and the ground is burning, you continue plowing, working, walking the paths of your beloved land where you live. We will continue to hit those who seek our demise, and we will not stop until quiet is returned to the south.

"All of us give our deepest thanks to the IDF and to the firefighting and rescue forces, which are standing guard at this time. You are our protective wall."

Since 3:00p.m., over 100 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel from Gaza, with Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system shot down at least 20, and 73 others fell in open areas. Other than damage to a chicken coop, no other damage was caused by those rockets which fell in open areas.