Seven members of a British-Israeli family, including two infants, were wounded after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip this morning struck their home in central Israel, north of Tel Aviv.
The attack destroyed the home in the central Israeli town of Mishmeret. Police said that the building caught fire after the missile struck it. The shrapnel from the projectile also caused considerable damage to the surrounding areas, as fragments hit a gas tank outside the building.
Robert and Susan Wolf, originally from London, were at home with their son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren when the long-range rocket from Gaza struck their home in the early hours of Monday morning.
Susan Wolf suffered a shrapnel wound to the head and her six-month-old granddaughter is in hospital. None of the injuries are life-threatening, Israeli authorities said. The family’s two dogs were killed in the attack.
The terror attack has been condemned by Foreign Secretary Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt MP, Middle East Minister Rt. Hon. Alistair Burt MP and British Ambassador to Israel, H.E. David Quarrey.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Twitter: “Appalled by terrorist attack from Gaza against civilians, including British-Israeli dual nationals. My thoughts are with all those affected. Completely UNACCEPTABLE actions by militant groups”.
Middle East Minister Rt. Hon. Alistair Burt MP said: “I condemn the rocket attack from Gaza, which destroyed a family home in Mishmeret with innocent civilians inside. Shocked to hear that dual British-Israeli citizens are among those injured. Such acts are unacceptable and part of a hopeless cycle of violence and suffering”.
Ambassador H.E. David Quarrey said: “We unequivocally condemn today’s rocket attack into Israel from Gaza. Our thoughts are with the British-Israeli family whose house in Mishmeret was hit. There can be no justification of any kind for this attack, whose consequences could have been devastating”.
Drone footage of the location depicts that the majority of the structure has been flattened.
The Iron Dome missile defense system did not appear to have been activated by the rocket attack. Israel’s military said it was still investigating the matter.
Earlier this month, two rockets were also fired at Tel Aviv, in what was described at the time as an apparent “mistake” by the Hamas terror group.
Hamas is reported to be planning a ‘million man march’ this week to mark the one year anniversary of the ‘March of Return’ protests held last year on the Israel-Gaza border.
The Israel Defense Forces is preparing for tens of thousands of Palestinians to gather along the Israel-Gaza border next weekend in anticipation of the march, set to take place on 29th March.
