A rocket fired from Gaza hit a home in Sderot near the Gaza border on Saturday, causing damage but no injuries, as missile barrages fired by Palestinian militants show no signs of slowing down.
The family who remained in their shelter were unharmed. The rocket was part of a rocket barrage that also targeted the cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod.
Israel launched an operation against Islamic Jihad on Friday, dubbed 'Breaking Dawn,' killing one of the group's senior commanders, Tayseer al-Jabari, in a surprise daytime air strike on a high-rise building in Gaza City and drawing rocket salvoes in response.
"We heard the sirens and we and our kids ran to the shelter," the owner of the house said. "Within six or seven seconds, we heard a loud explosion. I was sure it was inside the house," he said. "When we came out of the shelter, there was smoke everywhere and bits of the roof had fallen, but thank God no one was hurt," he said.
The military, meanwhile, continued striking Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza. The IDF said it had hit a five-story building in Gaza City, which contained a storage of weapons. The building which according to press reports was uninhabited, was completely destroyed.
Rocket lands in Sderot home on Saturday
Military sources told Ynet earlier that Israel is encouraged that thus far that Hamas, which rules Gaza, has refrained from joining the fighting, which the IDF was directing against the Islamic Jihad.
Meanwhile the Islamist faction's leader Ziad al-Nakhala, who is in Iran, met with senior officials of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Commander of the corps Major General Hossein Salami told Iranian media that the Israelis "will pay yet another heavy price for their recent crimes."
Earlier, two IDF soldiers sustained injuries from mortar fire near the border. They were evacuated to hospital.The two soldiers were hurt while tending to an unexploded projectile near the border, and were evacuated for medical treatment to a hospital while fully conscious.
In addition, a rocket that hit a factory in the Eshkol Regional Council near the Gaza border, sparked a fire in the area, while another projectile hit a cowshed. One person was reported to have been hurt by shrapnel.
The Islamic Jihad, meanwhile, fired missiles at the central city of Modi'in at midday after hours of rocket fire to the south of the country and Israeli communities near the Gaza border.
The Modi'in Municipality said no rockets or missiles hit the city, and urged residents to maintain vigilance and adhere to the IDF Home ront Command instructions.
The IDF said they had targeted a second squad in Gaza, intending to launch mortars at Israel, a first such targeted attack was carried out earlier in the day.
"A short while ago, IDF special forces targeted a military post belonging to the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip," the military said in a statement. "The IDF is continuing to strike terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip," the statement read.
Palestinian health officials also said that since the start of the operation, 14 people were killed and 110 wounded. Palestinians say among the victims were a five-year-old girl and 62-year-old woman. Israel says majority of the victims were members of the Islamic Jihad.
Reuters contributed to this report
First published: 10:11, 08.06.22