CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - Israelis in Sderot and Ashkelon awakened Wednesday to the sound of rockets exploding around them.

At least 11 Kassams targeted the coastal city of Ashkelon and 12 hit Sderot.

At Kibbutz Zikim south of Ashkelon, rockets damaged several greenhouses.

"We ran to the fortified rooms every few minutes," an Israeli employed at Ashkelon's southern industrial zone told YNet news service. "We heard the explosions all around us and it was terrifying," he said.

Magen David Adom rescue services were put on high alert, as were police and border guards in the area.

Hamas Claims Retaliation

Tuesday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) counter-terror operations in the Gaza Strip killed 19 Palestinians, including Hussam al-Zahar, son of former Palestinian Authority (PA) foreign minister and senior Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Zahar.

"There is no immunity for a nation that provides support and legitimacy to a government that murders children and the elderly and agrees to besiege an entire people," al-Zahar told the Nazareth-based al-Shams radio station.

Hamas announced a three-day mourning period and said they would continue firing rockets on Israel in response to the IDF's operations in Gaza.

In Gaza City, Hamas operatives broadcast over loudspeakers from mosques and vehicles that they were bombing Sderot and Ashkelon, sending Israelis into bomb shelters.

Sources: YNet news service, Haaretz