A Qassam rocket struck the Ashkelon beach early Tuesday, exploding in an open field near a kindergarten and lightly wounded a girl on her way to school.
The girl was treated on the spot by Magen David Adom paramedics and then taken to hospital for further evaluation; two other people were suffering from shock. A number of buildings in the area sustained light damage.
There were about 10 children in the kindergarten when the rocket struck about seven meters away, said a teacher. "I quickly got out of my car, ignoring the siren to help the children. I gathered them together and kept them busy."
Residents of the area had felt that a strike could be imminent recently, she said. "The doors are always open and the children are not allowed to leave the area," she said. "We are very strict about that."
Some 13 rockets have struck the western Negev over the last two days; none of those caused any casualties. The last injuries sustained from an attack in Israel was two weeks ago, when a man was wounded by a mortar shell that struck the Eshkol Regional Council.
The Israel Air Force carried out a series of air strikes in the Gaza Strip overnight Tuesday in response to the rise in attack.
Two militants were wounded in the strikes, which hit a Hamas training camp, smuggling tunnels along Gaza's border with Egypt, and other unpopulated areas, Hamas officials and witnesses said.
"The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization solely responsible for maintaining the calm in the Gaza Strip and for any terrorist activity emanating from it. The IDF will also continue to respond harshly to any attempt to use terror against the State of Israel," said the Israel Defense Forces in a statement.
Hamas leaders have tried to curb rocket fire at Israel, but smaller groups continue to carry out such attacks.
On Saturday, an Israeli air strike in Gaza killed five militants from a rocket launching squad.