Two rockets fired by Gaza militants on Thursday hit Be'er Sheva, wounding five people, including a 7-year-old boy who was seriously hurt. One of the rockets struck a car.A spokesman for the Magen David Adom emergency services said two people were seriously hurt and two were moderately wounded in the attack.
The Israel Air Force destroyed the launcher used in Gaza to fire the rockets into Be'er Sheva, and hit the squad that fired them, Channel 10 quoted the army as reporting.
The IAF earlier Thursday shot down a Qassam rocket launched into Israel by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
Shortly before 8 A.M., an Israeli jet fired on a rocket launching squad and intercepted a rocket, causing it to explode.
Eyewitnesses in the Kfar Aza area in the western Negev reported seeing the mid-air collision.
Gaza militants on Thursday fired a barrage of some 24 rockets at Israel, one of which exploded in the south central city of Gedera. Fifteen rockets alone struck the region between 7 and 8 A.M.
Two of the rockets exploded near Ofakim, causing no casualties. Another seven rockets hit the western Negev city of Sderot, with one exploding in the yard of a house. There were no casualties in the incident, though the house was severely damaged.
Hamas militants in Gaza on Wednesday fired their first phosphorus shell into Israel, which exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council in the western Negev. No injuries or damage were reported.
Over the course of Wednesday, militants fired at least 16 rockets at southern Israel.
All of them hit open areas near Ashdod, Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva and the western Negev. Five Israelis in Ashdod were treated for shock, but no other casualties or damage were reported in the attacks.