A rocket fire from Gaza hit Ashdod causing a massive fire near a gas station. Photo: IDF.

JNS.org – A man with disabilities was severely injured and seven more people were lightly injured Friday morning when a rocket fired from Gaza hit an Ashdod gas station, starting a massive fire. An Israeli Air Force plane bombed the launch site from where the rocket was fired.

The 61-year-old man who was seriously wounded in the blast was unable to exit his car when the air-raid siren sounded, leaving him vulnerable. After being treated initially at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot, the man was transferred to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva for further care.

Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency services paramedic Yehuda Gabai was on his way to reserve duty when he saw the explosion.

“I heard the alarm and took cover,” he told Israel Hayom. “When I lifted my head, I saw a cloud of smoke and ran to the scene. MDA staff helped me get the injured man out of car.”

Following the explosion in Ashdod, three rockets from Gaza were intercepted over the Tel Aviv area by the Iron Dome missile defense system. Air-raid sirens sounded in cities throughout central Israel, including Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Hod Hasharon, Rehovot, Givatayim, and Ramat Gan.