One man killed, two women injured by Hamas rocket

(JNS)—A man was killed and two women were seriously injured when a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck an apartment building in Ashkelon in southern Israel by the Mediterranean.

United Hatzalah volunteer EMS teams and ambulance crews helped evacuate and treat a woman in her 40s who was seriously injured as a rocket hit her apartment building late Monday. A man, believed to be in his 40s, was also found dead in the rubble.

The death is the first reported fatality in Israel since the rocket barrage began.

“When I arrived at the scene of the rocket attack, together with other volunteers from United Hatzalah’s ambulance crew, we were asked to treat a man who had no pulse and was not breathing,” said United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Moshe Weizman. “Unfortunately, we were forced to pronounce his death at the scene due to the serious injuries that he had suffered.”

He added, “We treated a woman who was seriously injured as a result of the explosion of the rocket.”

“Searches are still being conducted to ascertain whether anyone else is trapped in the wreckage. Two lightly injured people were transported from the scene by our ambulance team and taken to Barzilai hospital,” said David Krispel, who serves as the director of operations for United Hatzalah. “Due to the danger of the building collapsing, all of our volunteers have evacuated and are waiting nearby for the all-clear from the fire department and homefront command to either enter the building or end their search.”

Nearly 400 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip since Sunday amid an ongoing escalation between Hamas and Israel.