Rocket attack from Gaza kills 2 foreigners in southern Israel

rockets attack

JERUSALEM, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza killed two foreigners who work in a packaging factory in southern Israel on Tuesday, Israeli medics said.

Additional seven people were wounded in the incident in the Eshkol Regional Council, one of whom sustained serious injuries, the Magen David Adom emergency health service said in a statement.

Israel's state-owned Kan TV news reported that the victims were two males in their 30s, without specifying their nationalities.

In the attack, militants in the Gaza Strip fired dozens of rockets and mortars at southern Israel, including the cities of Beersheba and Ashdod, and communities in the vicinity of Gaza, according to statements issued by the police and the military.

Hamas assumed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that it was a retaliation for the killing of civilians in Israeli airstrikes.

Since the beginning of Israel's military campaign against Hamas last Monday, at least 213 people in the besieged Palestinian enclave have been killed, including 61 children. Meanwhile, in Israel, 12 people were killed, including a five-year-old boy, a soldier, and three foreign nationals.