Thai laborer lightly hurt by rocket south of Ashkelon

Worker injured by 1 of 2 rockets fired into Israel from Gaza; attacks follow IAF strike on Islamic Jihad terrorist cell attempting to fire rocket.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JPOST.COM STAFF
Palestinian terrorist 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Palestinian terrorist 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A foreign worker from Thailand suffered slight injuries from a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip that landed in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council area overnight Saturday. Previous reports stated that nobody was injured in the attack.
The rocket was one of two fired into Israel overnight Saturday, with another rocket falling in the area south of Ashkelon an hour previous to the rocket that caused the injury. The first rocket did not cause any injuries or damage.
RELATED:IDF prepares for Gaza escalation as ceasefire attemptedIsrael holds off on Gaza operation at Egypt's requestEarlier Saturday, the Israel Air Force (IAF) struck a terrorist cell that was making final preparations for firing a rocket into Israel, an IDF spokeswoman said on Saturday night.
The terror cell was hit by a missile fired by an aircraft. The strike occurred in Ak-Karara, east of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.
Channel 10 said one Islamic Jihad member was killed and two were injured. Palestinian sources in Gaza said three were wounded in the attack in which they reported that three missiles were fired into an agricultural area.
The terror organization threatened to respond to the strike, a threat it may have made good on with the two rocket launches later Saturday night and early Sunday morning.
The IDF attack came a day after a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, landing in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council area. No damage or injuries were reported in the attack.
On Thursday, Palestinian terrorists opened fire on IDF engineers carrying out work on the security fence on the Gaza border, prompting a prolonged exchange of fire in which two Palestinian gunmen were killed. No IDF soldiers were wounded.
The attack occurred near Kibbutz Zikim in the western Negev, which borders the northern section of the Gaza Strip. Palestinian gunmen opened fire on army engineers using machine guns and mortars.
Soldiers who were securing the site returned fire, and directed tank fire at the terrorists as well. Local commanders called for aerial support. An air force helicopter was dispatched to the scene and also opened fire on the terrorist cell.
Palestinian medical sources later said two gunmen were killed.
The attack ended a period of calm that came after an upsurge in rocket attacks from Gaza on southern Israel earlier this week.
Some 40 rockets were fired at Israel during the escalation, killing a civilian in Ashkelon and damaging residential neighborhoods in a number of southern cities.