Teen Critically Wounded In Gaza Missile Attack, IDF Retaliates

A 16-year-old boy was critically injured Thursday afternoon when Arab terrorists opened fire at a school bus traveling in southern Israel near the Nahal Oz crossing.

A second person -- the driver of the bus and the only other person in the vehicle at the time -- sustained shrapnel wounds in the leg. Others in the area suffered shock and severe anxiety. The bus, which was struck from behind, was hit at the Sa'ad junction, just outside Kibbutz Sa'ad in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council district. The front windows of the bus were shattered as well.

Magen Dovid Adom medics raced to the scene and stabilized the boy's condition while receiving mortar fire before he was airlifted to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva. The boy has been admitted to the Trauma Unit. with head injuries, according to hospital officials. The wounded driver was also rushed to the hospital.

Although police initially identified the weapon as a medium anti-tank missile, other reports indicated that it may have been a mortar attack. A barrage of mortar shells and rockets continued to be fired at the area following the attack. One exploded next to a house in the Eshkol region. Miraculously, no one was physically injured although the house was badly damaged. At least 16 projectiles had been fired at Israel's southern region by 5:00 p.m. local time.

INN