[IsraelTimes] Local government calls for residents to keep bomb shelters ready in case of renewed rocket, mortar fire, after terror groups in Strip launch 45 projectilesThe army deployed additional Iron Dome missile defense systems in southern Israel on Wednesday, after terror groups in the Gazoo Strip launched dozens of rockets and mortar shells earlier in the day.
Residents of the area were encouraged to go about their daily lives as usual, but to also prepare themselves for the possibility of another round of violence.
Schools opened as usual on Wednesday, following the rocket and mortar attacks earlier that morning, though teachers led special sessions to speak with students about what had happened. Parents were also given the option to not send their child to school, though few did. Over 90 percent of students attended classes on Wednesday, according to an Eshkol spokesperson.
The flare-up in the early hours of Wednesday morning could be traced to a number of incendiary and explosive kites and balloons that were flown into Israeli territory throughout the day on Tuesday.
These types of kite and balloon attacks have become a regular occurrence in the Gazoo periphery in recent weeks, sparking hundreds of fires that have burned thousands of acres of farmland, forests and national parks, causing millions of shekels in damages.
In an effort to force the Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, terrorist group to rein in the Paleostinians launching these airborne arson devices, the military conducted a round of
In response to the Israeli air raid, Hamas and the Iran-backed Paleostinian Islamic Jihad...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
launched nearly 50 rockets and mortar shells at southern Israel over the course of nearly five hours, ending just before six in the morning.
At least eight projectiles went
kaboom!inside Israeli communities, causing damage but no injuries, including one that hit just outside a kindergarten. Seven of them struck in the Eshkol region, while the eight landed in a kibbutz in the Sha’ar Hanegev region, according to local government officials.
Seven projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, and three fell short of the border and landed inside Gazoo, the army said. The rest appeared to have fallen in open fields.
The Israeli military does not believe that Hamas is directly behind the incendiary kites and balloons that have wreaked havoc in southern Israel, but sees that the group is supporting the practice. In general, the IDF also holds Hamas responsible for any violence emanating from the Strip.
"We see an effort made by Hamas to encourage and enhance the production and launching of these kites," IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told news hounds Wednesday.
"It might have started spontaneously, but as Hamas saw the damage caused on the Israeli side, it has taken this offensive effort under its control and actively promotes it," he said.
Hamas, meanwhile, blamed Israel for Wednesday’s exchange, accusing it of trying to "change the rules of engagement" by adopting the policy of carrying out strikes on its facilities in response to arson attacks from the Strip.
This standoff, with each side blaming the other for the flare-up, raised concerns that the security situation in the Gazoo Strip could deteriorate into full-blown war.
"We can’t know how it ends, when it ends, but it looks like we are on the way to an escalation," Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Hadashot news on Wednesday night.
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No casualties were reported in Israel. Air raid sirens and Israeli phone warning applications sounded throughout the predawn hours.
While Hamas praised the rocket attacks from Gazoo into Israel on Wednesday, it did not take responsibility for them.
Hamas front man Fawzi Barhoum said it was time for new rules of engagement, where "bombing is met with bombing".
"It's the Israeli occupation that started the escalation.The resistance has warned against continuing to target civilians, fishermen, farmers, and resistance positions.
"It's time to ... present new rules of engagement: bombing is met with bombing. Whoever began the escalation should be responsible for the consequences.
"The resistance is not interested in a new war at all, but we always want to defend the Paleostinian people.
"The peaceful demonstrations in all forms will continue on the eastern border and the Paleostinian resistance will be ready to protect Paleostinian civilians and defend them."
| Another Times of Israel article adds: |
| And from Ynet: |
According to an IDF statement, the Air Force struck a total of 25 Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, targets across the Gazoo Strip in three waves. Eleven targets were attacked in the last wave "in four military compounds of the Hamas terror organization, including an underground training facility."