Israel moves two brigades to the Gaza Strip, calls up some reserves

Two Israeli military brigades are moving to reinforce the the Gaza border.

By David Isaac, World Israel News

Two Israeli military brigades are moving to reinforce the Gaza border. The Israel Defense Forces also announced a limited call-up of reserves after a rocket attack on an Israeli home.

IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Ronen Manelis said, “Due to the security assessment led by the Chief of Staff, we are currently bringing two brigades who were training and a division commander for the Southern Command. We are calling in some reservists, for specific tasks. We are prepared for a wide variety of situations.”

The military reportedly deployed additional Iron Dome missile defense batteries throughout the country.

Maj. Mika Lifshitz, a military spokeswoman, said the IDF  has concluded that Gaza’s Hamas rulers fired the rocket from one of their launching pads in the southern part of the coastal strip, near the city of Rafah.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for all rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.

She said it was a self-manufactured rocket with a range of 120 kilometers, or about 75 miles.

The rocket made a direct hit on a home in central Israel, northeast of Tel Aviv, wounding seven people and prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut short a trip to Washington.

According to IDF instructions, Israeli farmers near the Gaza border have left their fields on Monday afternoon and after-school programs were canceled ahead of the pending escalation.

Associated Press contributed to the report.