The IDF had instructed residents of communities near the Gaza border to remain close to shelter in anticipation of a possible escalation but has since lifted those restrictions.
By JNS
A 25-year-old civilian was seriously wounded on Tuesday by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip into the southern Israeli city of Sderot.
The victim was evacuated in critical condition to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, the Magen David Adom emergency medical service said.
Two other civilians were lightly while working on the same construction site.
The Israel Defense Forces said the terrorists fired at least 21 projectiles in a major barrage.
A United Hatzalah ambulance team in Sderot transported a man in his 70s to the hospital after he sustained a head contusion while running for shelter due to the alert sirens. The man is in light condition.
United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit also treated a mother and her two children for emotional shock while fielding dozens of calls from residents of the Gaza periphery regarding the sirens and rocket barrage who are asking for assistance.
Earlier Tuesday, IDF Armored Corps tanks fired shells at terrorist assets in the Gaza Strip in response to Palestinian rocket fire targeting Israeli civilian population centers in the morning.
The military initially instructed residents along the border with the Hamas-ruled enclave to remain close to shelter, in anticipation of a possible escalation in violence. It has since lifted those restrictions, however, extra-curricular activities, including youth movements, have been cancelled.
Palestinian terrorists fired four projectiles towards the Jewish state early Tuesday after senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative Khader Adnan died in prison following an 86-day hunger strike.
Reuters cited Israeli prison authorities who said Adnan, 45, “refused to undergo medical tests and receive medical treatment” and “was found unconscious in his cell” at Nitzan Prison in Ramle.
Efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
“The occupation [Israel] will pay the price for [Adnan’s] death,” which “will be a lesson for generations,” said PIJ in a statement. “We will not leave this path as long as Palestine remains under occupation.”
Hamas, which rules Gaza, described Adnan’s death as a “coldblooded execution by the Israeli security services,” and warned that “the Palestinian people will not let this crime pass by in silence.
“The path of revolution and resistance will escalate,” said the terror organization.
Following the rocket fire from Gaza, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant recently completed a situation assessment together with the IDF Chief-of-Staff. “Anyone who attempts to harm the citizens of Israel will be sorry,” he said.
World Israel News contributed to this report.