Rocket fired from Gaza strikes school in southern Israel

JERUSALEM (JTA)—A rocket fired from Gaza hit a school building in the southern Israeli city of Sderot on Thursday evening.

The building, identified as a Jewish religious school, was damaged but no injuries were reported. It was reported to be empty at the time of impact and was fortified against rockets.

No one has taken responsibility for firing the rocket, but the Israeli military typically blames Hamas, the terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip.

A Code Red rocket alert was sounded in the area and one rocket was identified as being fired. It is not known why the rocket was not intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

Bomb sappers were called to search the building for any unexploded fragments.

Early Thursday morning, a rocket was fired at a southern Israeli town on the border with Gaza. Iron Dome intercepted that rocket.

The Israel Defense Forces responded Thursday morning, using fighter jets to bomb what it called in a statement “an underground terrorist infrastructure on a military compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the southern Gaza Strip.”

Also on Wednesday, at least six fires were started in southern Israel by incendiary balloons launched from Gaza, reportedly causing significant damage to farmland. Another Gaza balloon carrying a bomb that detonated while flying over an Israeli community, causing alarm.

In response to the latest wave of incendiary balloons, the IDF on Wednesday imposed a full naval closure on Gaza, which prevents local fisherman from entering the sea.

The balloons are an apparent violation of the informal cease-fire between Gaza and Israel.

The IDF statement concluded: “The IDF will continue to act against attempts to harm Israeli civilians and considers the terrorist organization Hamas responsible for everything that is happening in and out of the Gaza Strip.”