Ashdod woman hurt by Gaza rocket as Hamas declares truce

A rocket fired by Palestinian militants lightly wounded a woman in Ashdod on Sunday, as Hamas announced a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. The rocket directly struck a building in the southern town.

A total of 20 rockets exploded in southern Israel on Sunday, despite Israel's declaration of a unilateral cease-fire in the coastal territory on Saturday night and Hamas' subsequent announcement that it too was adhering to a truce.

Three people were lightly wounded over the course of the day.

One rocket was fired into Ashkelon at noon, and earlier Sunday two rockets hit a chicken coop in Shapir Regional Council causing severe damage. The rest of the rockets hit open areas near the southern Israeli town of Sderot, causing no casualties.

Following the salvoes fired into the South, Israel Air Force aircraft attacked rocket launchers in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said.

"We hit the launcher that had fired rockets into Israel," an IDF spokesman said.

At least seven Grad rockets were fired into southern Israel late Saturday, shortly after the cease-fire declaration.

On Saturday night Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that Israel's security cabinet had voted in favor of the unilateral cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which went into effect at 2 A.M. local time.