Rocket alert sirens blare across the country – including Be’er Sheva, Tel Aviv, Binyamin and the Sharon Plains; house hit in Mateh Yehuda Regional Council, none hurt.
Latest Update: 07.08.14, 22:36
Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip kept pushing northward on Tuesday night when the rocket alert siren was blared in Caesarea. It was followed by a volley of about 30 rockets fired at different areas of the country.
Sirens were sounded across the country on Tuesday night including in Sderot, Ashdod, Yavne, Be’er Sheva, Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Givatayim, Rishon LeZion,Kadima-Tzoran, Ness Ziona, Southern Sharon Regional Council, Ra’anana and Herzliya.
Hamas claimed it fired four rockets towards Jerusalem. The rocket alert siren was sounded in the capital, as well as surrounding cities Beit Shemesh and Beitar Illit. A house in the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council, in the Jerusalem district, was hit but no one was hurt.
The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted three rockets fired at the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
Rocket alert siren sounded in Tel Aviv
Over 70 rockets fell across an increasing number of communities across Israel during the day. Code Red rocket alerts sounded in Tel Aviv, Givatayim, Gedera, Be’er Sheva, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ofakim, Merhavim, Ramat HaNegev and Eshkol on Tuesday. The Iron Dome missile defense system was in operation in various locations, intercepting at least two rockets over Be’er Sheva, and more fired at the coastal cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon. It is also believed that at least one rocket was intercepted over Netivot.
Meanwhile, nine rockets exploded in open areas in Eshkol Regional Council on Tuesday afternoon, and two Grad rockets hit open areas in Ashkelon. On Tuesday morning, a rocket hit an empty house in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council, causing a fire. Two more rockets exploded in open areas between Ashdod and Ashkelon on Tuesday morning.
Magen David Adom paramedics treated nine people Tuesday in wake of the ongoing rocket fire. One person was lightly hurt from shrapnel to his foot, and another injured himself running to a shelter. Seven other people were treated for anxiety.
The Home Front Command on Tuesday instructed Israel Railways to halt train activity between Ashkelon and Sderot in both directions. The trains will begin and end their journeys at Ashkelon station until further notice.
In addition, the Israel Airports Authority announced that timings of arrivals and departures at Ben-Gurion Airport in Lod may change due to the security situation. Tel Aviv’s Sde Dov Airport was closed for takeoffs on Tuesday evening, and timing of landings may change.
Earlier, after being told by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon that there is a possibility Hamas could use its 80km-range rockets to fire at the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, mayors of Tel Aviv, Givatayim, Ramat Gan and Rishon LeZion have opened public shelters in their city. The Rishon LeZion beach was also cleared of beach goers as a precaution.
The IDF announced the operation in Gaza late Monday night, after a day in which some 80 rockets were fired at southern Israeli communities.
“The IDF has commenced Operation Protective Edge in Gaza against Hamas, in order to stop the terror Israel’s citizens face on a daily basis,” the IDF Spokesman wrote in a message posted on Twitter shortly after 1am.
Hamas has vowed to strike back, threatening that its rockets would indeed reach Tel Aviv. The militant group fired rockets at Israel’s commercial and cultural hub during the previous IDF operation to counter rocket fire, 2012’s Pillar of Defense, but few reached their target.
The IDF has urged Israelis within a 40km (24 mile) radius of the southern coastal territory to stay within reach of protected areas and ordered summer camps shut as a precaution against rocket fire.
On Monday, more than 30 rockets were fired at southern Israel in the span of 30 minutes, and more than 80 were fired throughout the day, the IDF said. One Israeli was injured by shrapnel in Ashdod. The heavy barrage was launched from Gaza, at the same time as the funeral procession for the six Hamas members killed in a tunnel explosion Sunday night. Hamas claimed responsibility for the heavy rocket fire.
Residents of towns in southern Israel close to the Gaza Strip were also warned to stay 15 seconds from bomb shelters at all times. It was also released Monday that Iron Dome batteries had been deployed in strategic positions throughout Israel.
Hamas’ armed wing threatened an “earthquake” in response to the Israeli assault.
Matan Tzuri, Roi Kais and Reuters contributed to this report
Surrealistic Israel: Missiles raining on Israel including Tel-Aviv and Ha’arretz Holds international Peace Conference???
Top Obama official blasts Israel for denying Palestinians sovereignty, security, dignity
‘How can Israel have peace if it’s unwilling to delineate a border, end the occupation?’ asks White House Mideast chief,
Phillip Gordon, in blistering Tel Aviv speech
http://www.timesofisrael.com/top-obama-official-blasts-israel-for-denying-palestinians-sovereignty-security-dignity/
Bennett physically attacked at Ha’aretz Peace Conference
Economy minister tells ‘Post’: “I represent a stance shared by millions of people and no one will silence me.”
Hamas landed 5 “naval commandos” by sea. They were taken out by an IDF helicopter gunship.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL9s9paqinU
Surrealistic Israel: Missiles raining on Israel including Tel-Aviv and Ha’arretz Holds international Peace Conference???
Top Obama official blasts Israel for denying Palestinians sovereignty, security, dignity
‘How can Israel have peace if it’s unwilling to delineate a border, end the occupation?’ asks White House Mideast chief, Phillip Gordon, in blistering Tel Aviv speech
http://www.timesofisrael.com/top-obama-official-blasts-israel-for-denying-palestinians-sovereignty-security-dignity/
Bennett physically attacked at Ha’aretz Peace Conference
Economy minister tells ‘Post’: “I represent a stance shared by millions of people and no one will silence me.”
Hamas landed 5 “naval commandos” by sea. They were taken out by an IDF helicopter gunship.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL9s9paqinU
This is happening because the imbeciles in what passes for Israel’s leadership insisted on quiet for quiet, allowing Hamas to improve its lethal arsenal.
They’re now reaping to what they turned a blind eye to for years.
I’m cheering on the Palestinians. I hope that they, in their stupidity, they manage to light a fire on the assess of Bibi and co, so that they actually allow the IDF to destroy Hamas, no matter how many Palestinians die in the process!!