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Arab father and daughter killed by Hamas rocket in Lod

“Hamas missiles do not differentiate between Jews and Arabs,” Lod mayor Yair Revivo said in a statement.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

A rocket launched from Gaza by terror group Hamas killed a father and daughter who were Arab citizens of Israel in the central Israel city of Lod, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Lod residents Halil Awad, 52, and his 16-year-old daughter, Nadine, were traveling in a vehicle that suffered a direct hit from a rocket. The mother was also seriously injured and remains hospitalized in critical condition.

“Hamas missiles do not differentiate between Jews and Arabs,” Lod mayor Yair Revivo said in a statement.

Starting on Tuesday evening, Hamas launched barrages of hundreds of rockets aimed at central Israel cities, sending alarms wailing in Tel Aviv and neighboring towns including Bat Yam, Holon, Ramat Gan, and Rishon LeTzion.

Sirens were also heard in municipalities on the Sharon coastal plain, up to the city of Netanya which is some 30 kilometers (20 miles)north of Tel Aviv.

The Iron Dome missile defense system has a reported 85%-to-90% success rate at intercepting rockets that would strike populated areas.

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But it appears that by sending hundreds of rockets in short bursts, Hamas can overwhelm the system.

Beyond the rocket attacks, Lod was the site of widespread rioting by Arab Israelis overnight.

“This is Kristallnacht in Lod,” Revivo told Channel 12. “I have called on the prime minister to declare a state of emergency in Lod. To call in the IDF. To impose a curfew…There is a failure of governance… This is a giant incident — an intifada of Arab Israelis. All the work we have done here for years [regarding coexistence] has gone down the drain.”

“All of Israel should know, this is a complete loss of control. This is unthinkable. Synagogues are being burned. Hundreds of cars set alight. Hundreds of Arab thugs are roaming the streets… Civil war has erupted in Lod. Molotov cocktails are being thrown into [Jewish] homes.”

Defense Minister Benny Gantz sent in several Border Police battalions to patrol the city and ensure public security.