Israeli death toll rises to 4 from Palestinian rocket onslaught

An Israeli man wounded by a Gaza rocket that hit the city of Ashdod died of his wounds Sunday evening, raising the Israeli death toll to four in the past day.

By World Israel News and AP

An Israeli police spokesman confirmed Sunday that a 35-year-old man, who was wounded in a direct hit on a car in the southern city of Ashdod, had died.

As of Sunday, a total of four Israeli civilians were killed by rockets fired by Palestinian terrorists from the Gaza Strip since Friday, with dozens of others wounded. According to Dr. Ron Lobel, deputy director of the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, his hospital alone has treated over 110 people over the past 24 hours.

In response, the Israeli military bombed terror targets in the Gaza Strip as it continues retaliatory strikes against the Hamas terror organization and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.

Israel announced it is also suspending fuel deliveries to Gaza.

Israel’s security cabinet is vowing to keep up the offensive against terror groups in the Gaza Strip after a day and a half of rocket barrages.

Cabinet ministers issued a statement Sunday after a nearly five-hour meeting saying the “ultimate consideration is the security of the state and its residents.”

Moments earlier a large rocket barrage from the Gaza Strip set off sirens across southern Israel in the attack that claimed the life of the 35-year-old Ashdod man.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told “Fox News Sunday” that Israelis have “every right to defend themselves” deeming the attack “pretty serious,” adding, “I hope we can return to the cease-fire that had been in place for weeks.”

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus on Sunday announced that Israeli forces had killed eight terrorists amid strikes against some 220 targets in the Gaza Strip, all of which were deemed “high-quality” sites, including the homes of terrorists in which terror activity was taking place.

Among the Israeli strikes on Sunday was a precision hit in which the IDF assassinated Hamed Ahmed Khudari, who transferred Iranian funds to terror groups in the Strip, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to build up their rocket stockpiles.