JERUSALEM (JTA) — A rocket fired by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza struck an assisted-living facility in the southern Israel city of Ashkelon on Wednesday afternoon, injuring a woman in her 70s.
The resident was injured in the face and arms by flying glass after the rocket crashed through her living unit.
The Israeli military said 360 rockets had been fired at Israel from Gaza between Tuesday morning — since its targeted killing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad senior commander Baha Abu al-Ata — and about 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Two Israelis have been injured from shrapnel since the start of the rocket launches. Another two dozen people have been hurt running to bomb shelters, and an equal number have been treated for anxiety due to the attacks, according to reports.
Sixty percent of the rockets landed in open areas, causing no injuries or damage. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted 90 percent of the rockets determined to be heading to populated areas.
Several homes have been hit by rockets but with no injuries or deaths. A factory on Sderot also was hit with a rocket on Wednesday.
The Israel Defense Forces launched retaliatory airstrikes on Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza on Wednesday. At least 23 Gaza Palestinians have been killed in the strikes, according to reports citing Gaza’s Health Ministry. More than half of the dead have been claimed as members of Islamic Jihad and other terror groups.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Education Ministry announced that schools located within 25 miles of the Gaza border will be closed again on Thursday, leaving about 309,000 children home for the third day in a row.
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