Over 24 hours, Israel was targeted by as many as 460 rockets and mortars launched by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, in what the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed was the largest-ever bombardment of Israel from the Gaza Strip in a single day. The attacks have killed a Palestinian man in Israel and injured more than 68.
The rocket attacks continued overnight and on Tuesday morning, with projectiles launched from Gaza at the city of Ashkelon (14km from Gaza) and towns closer to the Gaza border, including Sderot. Three houses in southern Israel were hit by rockets, and a mortar shell landed outside a nursery. The fresh barrage came after several hours of relative quiet in Israel following the bombardment that forced most Israelis living in the border area with Gaza to spend the night in bomb shelters.
Reports are indicating that an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the terror groups in Gaza has been reached, with the Israeli security cabinet said to have voted in favour of it. The ceasefire has largely held since 15:30 Israel time, with Israel indicating preparedness to resume fire in the event of the ceasefire being breached.
The Iron Dome missile defence system, which intercepts only missiles projected to strike Israeli communities, intercepted 100 of the incoming projectiles, the Israeli military said. While most of the rockets shot at Israel that were not intercepted by Iron Dome landed in open areas, several hit homes and other buildings.
The Hamas terror organisation that rules Gaza has claimed responsibility for the attacks – the most dramatic escalation since the 2014 Operation Protective Edge conflict between Israel and Hamas. Hamas yesterday threatened to expand the range of its rocket attacks to include the major southern cities of Ashdod and Beersheba, which together are home to nearly half a million Israelis.
Minister for the Middle East Rt. Hon. Alistair Burt MP today condemned the rocket attacks on Israel, stating: “I condemn Hamas rocket fire, and am deeply concerned by civilian casualties. Civilians in Israel and Gaza must be protected”. He underlined: “Everyone must step back from the brink and avoid further escalation. UK fully supports Egypt/UN efforts to calm situation and find lasting solution to Gaza”.
More than 68 people in Israel have been treated for injuries since Monday, most of them light wounds or stress-related trauma. A 19-year-old Israeli soldier, who was not involved in the fighting, was seriously wounded when an anti-tank missile fired by Hamas hit a bus on the Israel-Gaza border. Dozens of soldiers had been on the bus moments before the guided missile struck the vehicle. The terror organisation released video footage of the missile hitting the bus yesterday.
In the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, a 48-year-old Palestinian man named Mahmoud Abu Asbah, a resident of the West Bank town of Halhul, north of Hebron, was killed after a house was hit by a missile late Monday night. Eight others were wounded in the strike, including two women who were in the same building at the time of the attack and are said to be in critical condition. Videos of rockets exploding in Ashkelon emerged overnight. The Islamic Jihad terror group latterly claimed that it used a new type of missile to bombard Ashkelon, without identifying the weapon’s name or model.
On Monday, Israeli residents of communities near the Gaza Strip were ordered by the IDF to remain inside bomb shelters, and residents of the cities of Beersheba, Ashkelon and Ashdod were told to stay within close proximity of bomb shelters and protected spaces.
The IDF confirmed that its retaliatory targeted air strikes hit more than 160 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror targets in the Gaza Strip, including three underground tunnels, weapons warehouses, and a naval vessel used by Hamas. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said that six Palestinians were killed, and several were injured in the strikes. Yesterday evening, the IDF struck the multi-story headquarters of Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa television station in Gaza City after firing warning missiles. This morning, three were killed after a helicopter fired at a group of Gazans seen attempting to breach the border fence with Israel.
CFI Parliamentary Chairman (Commons) Rt. Hon. Stephen Crabb MP condemned Hamas’s attack today, stating: “The dramatic escalation jeopardises recent efforts to secure a lasting truce between Hamas and Israel. Longer term, Hamas must renounce violence if there is to be any chance for a lasting two-state solution”.
The dramatic escalation of violence followed a night of deadly clashes between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas on Sunday.
Overnight Sunday, one Israeli soldier and seven Hamas fighters were killed in clashes in the territory, after Israeli special forces launched an intelligence-gathering mission in the Gaza Strip. As the Israeli forces attempted to withdraw from Gaza, they were intercepted by Hamas fighters and an exchange of fire followed, resulting in the fatalities.
Among the Hamas fighters killed in Israeli airstrikes was a senior commander of Hamas’s military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The commander is understood to be Nour Barakeh, considered to be responsible for the cross-border tunnel offensive strategy in Gaza.
Since March, Israel has been hit by regular incendiary kite and balloon terror attacks from Gaza, in weekly protests dubbed the “Great March of Return”, which have also involved shooting attacks, bombings and attempted border breaches.
In August, Israel was hit by a sustained attack of over 200 rockets and mortars that were fired from Gaza, injuring at least nine people, which until today represented the worst violence since 2014.
The attacks came amid reports of intense talks between Israel and Hamas for an Egyptian-brokered long-term ceasefire.
