The violence in Israel’s south has continued, with Gaza rockets falling on Israeli cities—one of which hit a Synagogue rooftop while another landed near an educational facility, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Twitter page. Multiple people have been injured by the rockets. Among the locations hit include the major Israeli southern coastal city of Ashdod, part of a significant escalation in the region. Following Thursday’s multipronged terror attack that killed eight Israelis and injured about 40, the IDF responded by hitting a variety of terror targets in the Gaza Strip.
A press statement put out by the IDF said that those targets included smuggling tunnels, terror activity sites and a weapons manufacturing facility. The strikes were also in response to Gaza rocket fire.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday in a released statement that Israel had also targeted and killed senior leaders in the terror organization responsible for Thursday’s multi-facet terror attack. Thursday’s terrorism targeted civilian vehicles and Israeli soldiers and involved gun and mortar fire.
With the IDF responding to the attack by striking Gaza, rocket fire from the Strip picked up significantly.
Over a dozen rockets have been fired at in Israel since Thursday night, and the IDF Spokesperson’s Blog said that the Iron Dome Israel missile defense system has intercepted multiple rockets.
Be sure to watch for updated news as the situation continues.
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, August 19, 2011)