Home hit by rocket in Ashkelon
Home hit by rocket in AshkelonYosef Yishai Kelman

IDF aerial and ground forces attacked targets in Gaza on Thursday night. The IDF is increasing its fire on terrorist targets by using both aircraft combined with artillery fire.

Residents of Israeli communities located near the Gaza border reported hearing huge explosions in the area as a result of the IDF's massive attack in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF called on residents of communities located up to four kilometers from the Gaza border to remain in shelters until further notice.

Simultaneously with the extensive attacks on Gaza, heavy barrages of rockets were fired at communities in southern Israel and the Shphela region. A rocket hit a home in Ashkelon and miraculously there were no injuries.

In another incident in Ashkelon, a rocket hit a seven-story building. A 60-year-old man was seriously injured, a man in his 50s was seriously injured and another man in his 90s was lightly injured from shrapnel.

Magen David Adom paramedics provided the three with medical treatment and evacuated them to Barzilai Hospital.

At around 5:30 a.m., additional barrages were fired at communities near the Gaza border.

Earlier on Thursday evening, an 87-year-old woman from Moshav Shtulim near Ashdod died after suffering a head injury while running to a protected space during a siren.

A rocket exploded between several houses in Be'er Sheva, without causing any physical injuries. Two people who suffered from anxiety were treated at the scene.

More than 300 rockets were fired at Israel on Thursday. Sirens were sounded in the evening in Ashdod, Modi'in, Lod, Ramla, the communities in the Shphela region, in the Ashkelon and Ashdod areas, as heavy rocket barrages were fired from the Gaza Strip.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit announced shortly after midnight that IDF aerial and ground forces were attacking targets in Gaza. An IDF fighter jet and aircraft earlier attacked a number of buildings housing many Hamas and Islamic Jihad weapons. One of the weapons depots that was attacked was in the home of a Hamas naval activist.

Earlier, three rockets were fired from Lebanon at the town of Shlomi in the Galilee. There were no injuries and no warning was sounded due to the fact that the rockets landed at sea and not near homes. Residents of the area heard explosions.

A heavy barrage of rockets was also launched on Thursday evening at communities in the south of the country, including Be'er Sheva, the Bedouin diaspora and the communities near the Gaza border.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz authorized the IDF to recruit another 9,000 reservists in an exceptional call order in accordance with the operational needs, after assessing the security situation.