‘Unreal’ – 18 months into war, Ashkelon targeted by Hamas rockets

“After a year and a half of war in Gaza, rockets are still being fired at Ashkelon. This is unreal,” says resident of southern coastal city.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Residents of Ashkelon expressed their anger after a Hamas rocket barrage targeted their southern coastal city on Sunday night.

At least 10 rockets were said to have been launched from central Gaza, triggering sirens in Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Yavne.

While some of the rockets were intercepted, five rockets impacted in Ashkelon, wounding residents and damaging homes and cars.

Following the attack, 29 people were transported to Barzilai Hospital for various injuries related to the bombing, including shrapnel wounds.

The majority of those injuries were minor, with only four people remaining hospitalized overnight, the medical center said in a statement.

Speaking to Hebrew-language media outlets, Ashkelon residents said they were frustrated that rocket attacks still pose a threat, nearly 18 months after the October 7 Hamas massacres and Israel’s subsequent invasion of the Gaza Strip.

“After a year and a half of war in Gaza, rockets are still being fired at Ashkelon. This is unreal,” Uri, who was only identified by his first name, told Mako.

“We are still running to the bomb shelter – what victory are we talking about?” he added.

Rafi, whose home was hit by shrapnel, told Ynet that “the feeling is really, really bad.”

He added that he doesn’t “know what we’re doing there in Gaza, if rockets are still hitting apartment buildings.”

Ashkelon Mayor Tomer Glam called for a forceful response to the barrage, which was the largest Hamas attack on Israel in months.

“I expect the Israeli government and the Israel Defense Forces to strike Hamas with all their might, and to destroy [Hamas’] ability to once again disrupt our daily lives,” Glam said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently on a diplomatic visit to the U.S., pledged that Israel would respond “harshly” to the attack.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism) said that the attack proved why Israel must continue fighting Hamas in Gaza until a decisive victory.

“If anyone needed a reminder of why we must not stop a moment before destroying Hamas, they received it tonight in the form of the rocket launches that came from Gaza to the cities of the south,” Smotrich wrote on social media platform X.