UPDATE: In response to rocket fire, IDF says it attacked ‘two rocket launchers, two military positions and eight terrorist operatives of the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip,’ in a statement published moments ago.
The strikes come as more rocket attack alerts have been issued for Israel’s south, including a salvo taken at Ashkelon at 9 pm local time.
Palestinian health officials in Gaza say 20 people have been killed in the fighting with Israel. Netanyahu has accused the Hamas militant group of crossing a “red line” with its rocket attacks on Jerusalem and promised a tough response.
UPDATE: Fresh rocket sirens sound in Israeli communities near the Gaza border. The alarms are heard in the town of Sderot and nearby communities in the Sha’ar Hanegev region.
The latest escalation in the attacks on Israel saw Hamas fire at least 30 rockets towards the Western Negev as well as targeting Ashkelon, Sderot, Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem. No casualties were reported in the attacks but a car in the Western Negev was hit by a cornet anti-tank rocket and went up in flames. One person was lightly injured by broken glass caused by one of the rockets.
The Israel Defense Forces says the current round of violence will likely last at least several days as it begins conducting airstrikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, after dozens of rockets were fired at Israel from the enclave, including at Jerusalem.
“In the next few days, Hamas will feel the long arm of the [Israeli] army. It won’t take a few minutes, it will take a few days,” says IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman.
Ministers in the high-level security cabinet approved a massive aerial bombardment on Gaza following the rocket fire, but not a ground incursion.
Meanwhile, The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group threatens to renew rocket fire from Gaza on Israel
Video of the Iron Dome interceptions over Sderot a short while ago pic.twitter.com/1jxcvNghtS
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 10, 2021
This is the fourth barrage of rockets aimed at this area in the past 30 minutes.
Israel is under heavy rocket attack from Hamas on Monday evening. Some rockets were sent towards Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh. Hamas’ military wing says it struck Jerusalem in response to Israel’s “crimes and aggression in the Holy City, and its harassment of our people in Sheikh Jarrah and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Red Crescent: 163 Palestinians have been injured, 23 hospitalized as Israelis fire sound bombs and tear gas inside the Al Aqsa Mosque compound pic.twitter.com/eb0RbGSNW1
— لينة (@LinahAlsaafin) May 7, 2021
From Arutz Sheva News: Seven rockets were fired at Jerusalem shortly after 6 PM Monday evening, right as the ultimatum issued by the Hamas terrorist organization expired. One of the rockets was intercepted by the Iron Dome system.
A rocket struck a house in the Jerusalem suburb of Mevasseret Zion, causing damage but no injuries.
Hamas had demanded that to pull all troops from the Shimon Hatzadik (Sheikh Jarrah) neighborhood and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by 6 PM tonight. Hamas also called on Israel to free all Arabs detained for rioting in Jerusalem by that time.
The organizers of the Jerusalem Day Flag Dance called off the event shortly after it began following the Hamas threat and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to ban the march from passing through the Damascus Gate.
Alarms were also heard in Beit Shemesh and dozens of other cities and towns in central Israel.
Residents of Jerusalem reported hearing explosions. Police have begun to evacuate people from the Old City of Jerusalem in response to the rocket fire. The Knesset has also been evacuated.
Hamas released a statement claiming that the rocket fire was in “response to the enemy’s aggression in the holy city.”
