Terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza shot at least 45 rockets at communities in southern Israel with one landing near a kindergarten.
By: World Israel News Staff
Terrorists in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip launched at least 45 rockets and mortar shells at communities in the south overnight and in the early morning Wednesday, seven of which were shot down by the Iron Dome air defense system.
IDF forces fired back at the terrorists, launching about three sorties targeting facilities belonging to Hamas terror troops.
The Eshkol Council did not say whether there were wounded but did say that buildings and cars suffered damage.
Palestinian sources said two were injured in Gaza.
Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, wrote on Facebook that “the resistance decides the rules of the conflict and will not allow the enemy to force upon us new arrangements.”
Daoud Shihab, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad publicized a tweet saying “the resistance [Palestinian terrorists] has the right to respond in accordance with the circumstances and the situation on the ground as it sees fit.”
Forty rockets and mortar shells landed on the Israeli side, of them about five hit populated areas near Gaza, including a kindergarten. The others landed in open fields outside the towns and cities of the south.
IDF jets fired missiles at a subterranean training facility belonging and a terrorist base belonging to the Hamas. In all about 25 sites throughout the Strip were targeted.
Hamas was blamed by the IDF for using human shields or directing their fire at Israeli civilians “and dragging the Gaza Strip and its civilians down a deteriorating path.”
“The IDF,” the spokesman said, “is prepared to defend Israeli civilians and will increase its activity as necessary. Everything that transpires in the Gaza Strip and will bear the consequences for deliberately targeting Israeli civilians.”
Hamas’ terror activity will be confronted by the IDF “with great severity and is prepared for a wide-variety of scenarios and will continue operating to fulfill its mission to defend Israeli civilians,” the IDF spokesman added.
Terrorists operating in Gaza launched incendiary kites and balloons into southern Israel, sparking brush fires.
Three Hamas sites located in Gaza’s southern section were saturated with IDF firepower around midnight on Tuesday.
Rocket alerts were activited, sending thousands of civilians in Israeli communities surrounding the Gaza Strip to bomb shelters as projectiles fired from Gaza landed in Israel.
A warning was issued by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman that Israel will not stand by idly while terror groups operating in Gaza maintained a steady stream of incendiary kites and balloons into Israel.
“If anyone thinks it will be possible to continue with the daily kites and fires, they are wrong,” he said during a tour of Israel Aerospace Industries.
The army warned that it had the “intelligence, knowledge and operational capability” necessary to conduct further strikes in Gaza if the balloon and kite attacks did not stop.