3 foreign workers wounded in mortar attack into Israel....

Mortar/rocket fire is up from Gaza....

Three foreign workers were injured on Saturday when a mortar fired from the Gaza Strip exploded in the Sha'ar Hanegev region.

Three mortars were fired from the Gaza Strip around 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon. Two of the mortars landed in open territory but one struck a populated area in a kibbutz near the border fence, wounding three foreign workers and damaging property.

One of the foreign workers was in moderate-serious condition from shrapnel injuries to his chest. A second foreign worker was moderately wounded by shrapnel in his leg and a third was lightly wounded in the incident.

"This is, of course, a very serious incident, one of the most severe we have had recently, it represents an escalation that appears to have reached a new height," said Alon Shuster, head of the local municipal authority.

The wounded men were transported to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva for medical treatment.

Militant group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.