The scene of a Gaza rocket attack on Israel that left a 4-year-old boy dead. Photo: Israel police.

Daniel Tregerman, a 4-year-old boy was killed in a Gaza mortar attack on Israel late on Friday afternoon as he played in the living room of his family home, local media reported.

The rocket struck a nearby car in the southern Sha’ar Hanegev region critically injuring the boy with shrapnel who later died of his wounds.

According to the IDF, the projectile was fired from nearby the grounds of a school run by UNRWA in the Shejajiah neighborhood in Gaza City.

Magen David Adom paramedics attempted to perform CPR on the child, but their efforts failed. Five others were lightly wounded in the attack.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld tweeted, “Sadly a 4 year old child dies from his wounds after mortar strike in the negev region. Damage caused to buildings and cars in area.”

4-year-old Daniel Turgerman.

Following the tragic event, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the head of the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council Alon Schuster.

“On behalf of the citizens of Israel, I express deep sorrow and send condolences to the family of the child,” Netanyahu said. He also warned that Hamas “will pay a heavy price for this terrorist attack.”

Itzik Bar-or, a medic for Israeli volunteer ambulance service United Hazolah told Israel’s Walla News that he was the first to treat the child.

Bar-or, who lives close by said he heard the explosion near his house and immediately went outside. Hearing cries for help he ran to the scene of the attack with a first aid kit.

He said he found the boy in a nearby house and that he had incurred severe head injuries. Shortly afterwards MDA and military medical teams arrived and later determined the child’s death.

The child’s parents and siblings were inside the house at the time of the attack, Bar-or said.

In response to news of the death, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro condemned the attack in a Facebook post.

“I’ve just heard the terrible news that a 4-year-old child was killed by a mortar strike in the south,” he wrote. “I condemn in the strongest terms this outrageous terrorist attack and offer condolences to the boy’s family. Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself, which the United States supports.”

The victim is Israel’s fourth death from rocket attacks and 68th including soldiers in its current Operation Protective Edge aimed at halting Gaza rocket attacks.

Friday saw a significant escalation in rocket attacks from Gaza after cease-fire talks broke down when Gaza terrorists launched volleys of rockets into Israel earlier this week. Over 80 projectiles have been fired into the country so far in the last 24 hours.