The rocket crashed into a women's health clinic on the second floor of a busy shopping mall in central Ashkelon just before 6:00 pm, wounding 14 people and burying several shoppers under piles of rubble. MDA paramedics dispatched to the scene fought to extract those trapped under large pieces of debris, including three people who were evacuated in serious condition. Two additional victims are confirmed to be in moderate condition and the rest are being treated for light injuries.

Ambulances rushed the wounded to the nearby Barzilai Hospital, among them a young girl who is in moderate condition and two infants who sustained light injuries. The girl's mother is also said to be among the wounded. Paramedics also tended to several people suffering from shock.

The Salah al-Din Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesman for the group, Abu Abir, told Ynet: "This attack was intended as a message to Israel that if it continues to escalate the situation and reject the ceasefire proposal, Zionist residents of southern Palestine will continue to live under danger of mortal peril and this will be their own government?s responsibility."