Iron Dome downs Gaza rocket near Ashkelon
Rocket fire comes after 2 days of clashes on border with the Strip
Tamar Pileggi is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
The Iron Dome anti-missile defense system shot down a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip over the Hof Ashkelon region in southern Israel Saturday night.
No injuries or damage were reported.
Air raid sirens sounded in southern Israeli communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip late on Saturday night, following a second day of deadly clashes between IDF troops and Palestinians along the border.
Two Palestinian teenagers were killed by Israeli forces in clashes in the Khan Younis area of the Israel-Gaza border, Palestinian media said; seven alestinians were reported killed in clashes at the border on Friday.
On Saturday evening, some 70 Palestinians successfully infiltrated into Israel through the border fence.
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IDF troops intercepted the Gazans and turned most of them back. About five tried to flee and were shot at and arrested, Israel Radio said.
On Friday night, a rocket fired from Gaza exploded in the Eshkol region in southern Israel. No injuries or damage were reported.
Hamas’s Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh on Friday called for “the strengthening and increasing of the intifada… It is the only path that will lead to liberation.”
Concerned by the escalating violence in the Hamas-controlled Strip, Israeli officials deployed additional Iron Dome anti-rocket batteries in Beersheba and Ofakim on Saturday.
Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
