IDF orders schools closed as far as Tel Aviv, warns citizens to stay near shelters

School was canceled in cities and communities near the Gaza Strip and Israel Railways canceled routes in southern Israel.

By World Israel News Staff 

The IDF urged residents of southern Israel to stay close to bomb shelters on Tuesday as the region went on high alert after Israel killed a senior Islamic Jihad commander.

School was canceled in cities and communities near the Gaza Strip and Israel Railways canceled routes in southern Israel.

The National Roads Authority released video footage of a rocket striking near an intersection, narrowly missing passing cars. The incident took place at Gan Yavne junction just east of the city of Ashdod.

Tuesday’s alert also affected places much farther north, including the Tel Aviv area, Israel’s main population center.

After Tel Aviv-area schools and businesses were closed amid the early morning violence, the IDF Home Front Command eased the restriction after 9:30 a.m., saying that workplaces could operate normally if they are equipped with protective areas where employees could go in case of a rocket attack.

The Home Front Command also issued instructions that in the Gaza Strip, the Lakhish area, the western and central Negev and the Shfela region, no more than 100 people may congregate in closed spaces. No educational activities or non-essential jobs were to take place.

In the Dan and Yarkon regions, the Home Front said no more than 300 people may congregate in closed spaces and no educational activities were to take place. Non-essential jobs could go on so long as nearby standard shelters could be reached in the required time.

At an intersection in the south with a road sign pointing toward the rocket-ridden town of Sderot, located close to the Gaza Strip in Israel’s western Negev region, a police car could be seen blocking the way, preventing motorists from entering the area.

Adele Raemer, a resident of a kibbutz near the border with Gaza, found herself in the ironic situation of experiencing calm for the moment, at least, on Tuesday morning, but saying that she had to cancel plans to go to Tel Aviv because of the alert there.

Raemer noted that her own area near the border was not in the clear and that they were ordered to stay within “15 seconds” of a safe area in conducting their activities on Tuesday. Because of the close proximity to Gaza, residents in her community have almost no warning time to escape an air attack.