A Red Alert incoming projectile warning sent residents of the southern Israeli city of Sderot scrambling for shelter last night as 4 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip.
The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted 2 of the rockets over the city, while the other 2 landed in open areas outside Sderot. Shrapnel from the interceptions caused property damage in the city.
A 3-year-old child was injured while running to a protected space during the barrage. Paramedics from the Magen David Adom emergency service treated the toddler.
Perhaps the most dramatic moment came when a mother in Sderot threw herself over her two young daughters to shield them from potential shrapnel as the rocket interceptions occurred overhead.
Video: The mother in Sderot protects her daughter during a rocket attack / Usage under Israeli intellectual property law section 27a
The rocket attacks came amid heightened tensions between Israel and Palestinian terrorists in Gaza as the war against Hamas continues into its seventh month. Although the Israeli Home Front Command did not change official safety guidelines, Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi decided to move the city's Memorial Day ceremony, ahead of the national day of remembrance for the fallen of Israel's war and victims of terrorism, indoors to a fortified auditorium as a precaution.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the rocket fire from Gaza. But the Israeli military typically responds with airstrikes on militant targets in the coastal enclave when rockets are launched towards Israeli communities.
