Twenty-six Gazans, including nine children, reported killed in Israeli strikes ■ Israel kills three top Islamic Jihad militants, report says ■ Direct hit to Israeli houses, dozens wounded, as Ashkelon residents forced into shelter.
Over 250 rockets were fired into Israel and the IDF struck some 140 targets in the Gaza Strip, after Hamas joined the fighting Monday following a weekend of clashes in Jerusalem.
Palestinian media have reported 26 deaths in Israeli strikes, while Gaza’s Hamas and Islamic Jihad continued to rain rockets on Israeli communities along the border.
The Israeli military boosted its presence along the border. Authorities called on local residents to remain at home and near bomb shelters until further notice. Violent riots spread across Arab cities inside Israel, with one man shot dead.
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3:16 P.M. Two Israelis killed in Gaza rocket fire in Ashkelon
Two Israelis were killed after rockets fired from Gaza struck residential area. One Israeli was seriously wounded, and five more suffered light injuries. (Haaretz)
2:49 P.M. Rivlin tells ambassadors that no other country would accept this situation
- And then Hamas did two unexpected things
- Israeli Arab shot dead as Jerusalem riots spillover; Jewish suspect arrested
- Riots spread to Israeli Arab cities amid Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah violence
- Rivals’ coalition talks mean Netanyahu’s in no rush to de-escalate Gaza tensions
- Jerusalem Day reminds me: Israel’s extremists and fanatics are not my Jewish people
President Reuven Rivlin met today with ambassadors from the European Union regarding the violence going on in Gaza.
Rivlin said that “Yesterday Jerusalem was attacked. Since rockets have been shot at our cities, and thousands of children are with their parents in bomb shelters. No country in the world would accept this situation. We will take all necessary steps to defend our citizens.” (Haaretz)
A house damaged by a Gaza rocket in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon.Credit: JACK GUEZ – AFP
2:57 P.M. One seriously injured and one critically injured by Gaza rocket fire
An Israeli woman was seriously injured and a man was critically injured after a house was directly hit by a rocket fired from Gaza.
(Haaretz)
2:45 P.M. Arab League to meet to discuss the growing violence
The Arab League is set to meet, at the request of the Palestinian Authority and Jordan, to discuss the spiraling violence in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. (Jack Khoury)
2:30 P.M. IDF orders Ashkelon residents to stay in shelters until further notice
The IDF Spokesperson has told the residents of the southern Israel city of Ashkelon to remain in sheltered areas until further notice.
Ashkelon Mayor Tomer Glam also urged residents not to leave their homes, and to stay in protected areas. (Almog Ben Zikri)
Some 200 Gaza rockets fired at Israel. A home in the coastal city of Ashkelon suffered a direct hit, this morning.Credit: Ilan Assayag
2:17 P.M. Hamas says 137 rockets fired at Israel in five minutes
Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, said the Islamist group fired 137 rockets at Ashkelon and Ashdod over a five-minute period and warned that it has “many more.” (Jack Khoury)
2:03 P.M. Twenty-six killed, 122 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza, Palestinian Health Ministry says
1:51 P.M. Gaza rocket hits empty Israeli school in Ashkelon
An empty school in Ashkelon was directly hit by rocket fire on Tuesday, the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority reported.
Firefighters are searching the building to ensure that nobody is trapped under the rubble. (Almog Ben Zikri)
1:30 P.M. Israeli military chief says ready for ‘indefinite’ escalation
At Tuesday’s situation assessment, Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said all IDF units must prepare for a wider campaign of an indefinite duration. He ordered that attacks continue on Hamas and Islamic Jihad facilities for weapons manufacturing and storage – and for the onslaught to be expanded to additional targets.
Kochavi said attacks must also continue on “every Hamas or Islamic Jihad terrorist” wherever they are – he ordered the Gaza Division to be reinforced, including infantry and armored brigades, alongside higher preparedness for air defense, intelligence and air force units.
The effort would continue so that residents of the south can live in safety, Kochavi said, adding that after the one-day Shavuot holiday that ends Monday evening, the IDF will consider whether to resume the Chariots of Fire training exercise that was suspended. (Yaniv Kubovich)
1:29 P.M. Islamic Jihad operatives killed in Israeli attack on Gaza, report says
Three senior Islamic Jihad operatives were killed Tuesday in an Israeli strike on an apartment building in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood.
Eight others were wounded in the attack. According to reports, one of the dead was Mohammed Abu al-Ata, a senior commander in Islamic Jihad’s rocket division, and the brother of Baha Abu al-Ata, who was killed by Israel in 2019 along with Kamal Karike and Sameh al-Mamluk.
An Iron Dome air defense system intercepts a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip over central Israel, on Monday.Credit: Ilan Assayag
1:19 P.M. Israeli home suffers direct hit amid heavy rocket fire
A rocket fired from Gaza hit a home in Ashkelon. Magen David Adom is treating four people who were lightly injured by shards of glass. There were also 17 people being treated for trauma. (Haaretz)
1:17 P.M. Hamas says operatives killed in Israeli strike
Hamas announced Tuesday that several Hamas operatives had been killed and some were missing following an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip. According to reports, the attack took place on a tunnel where a number of Hamas operatives were stationed.
1:10 P.M. Gaza rocket fire expands beyond border communities
Sirens have sounded in many Israeli towns as rocket fire from Gaza expanded well beyond the border fence.
Israeli bomb disposal officer carrying a rocket shrapnel, today.Credit: Emil Salman
This included Ashdod, Ashkelon and Bnei Ayish. Sirens were also heard at the kibbutzim of Hatzor Ashdod, Zikim and Yad Mordechai, as well as the moshavim of Netiv Ha’asara and Be’er Tuvia. (Haaretz)
12:16 P.M. Two killed in attack on apartment building in Gaza
Two people were killed and eight were wounded in a strike on an apartment building in the Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City.
The attack reportedly targeted Islamic Jihad operatives.
(Jack Khoury)
12:05 P.M. Hamas: Attacks to continue until Israel changes policies
Hamas said Tuesday that “resistance to the occupation will continue regardless of the extent of the sacrifice, and until Israel changes its policies.”
Hamas said it would respond with force to every attack. “Israel planned to attack the homes of innocent civilians, and the number of casualties attests to the scope of their crimes,” it said. (Jack Khoury)
11:56 A.M. Gantz authorizes IDF to call up 5,000 reservists
Defense Minister Benny Gantz has authorized the IDF to call up 5,000 reserve soldiers in an unusual call to several units including the Southern Command, the Home Front Command and the Operations Directorate.
The goal is to continue the current effort, Operation Guardian of the Walls, and strengthen the defense of the home front. (Yaniv Kubovitch)
11:41 A.M. Gantz holds situation assessment with IDF officials
Defense Minister Benny Gantz has held a situation assessment on the situation in Gaza with IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi and other senior defense officials.
Gantz instructed the IDF to continue with its gradual but powerful attacks against Hamas and approved the IDF’s recommendations for continued operations.
Gantz told the military to support and prepare the home front, also telling the IDF to prepare to rebut false claims by the Palestinians.
He also approved the request of Public Security Minister Amir Ohana for eight companies of Border Police as reinforcements.
(Yaniv Kubovich)
11:27 A.M. Over 30 sent to Ashdod hospital after rocket attack
As of Tuesday morning, 31 people had been admitted to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashdod after sustaining wounds as rockets rained down from Gaza.
Of the 31, one person was in serious condition, one was moderately wounded and 21 were lightly wounded.
Among the wounded are four members of one family from the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, and five children. (Almog Ben Zikri)
10:36 A.M. Rocket barrages fired at southern Israel
Rockets have been fired from Gaza at southern Israel, with warning sirens sounding in communities in the Ashkelon and Western Negev regions.
Three rocket barrages were fired at Ashkelon, the Eshkol region and the Hof Ashkelon region. Two more barrages were fired at the Sha’ar Hanegev region. Another round was later fired at the Sha’ar Hanegev region and the city of Sderot. (Haaretz)
10:26 A.M. Israeli military strikes Hamas’ missile launchers
The Israel Defense Forces reported that it hit a cell of anti-tank launchers belonging to Hamas on Tuesday. (Yaniv Kubovich)
9:50 A.M. Ashkelon hospital updates injury count to 19
The Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon reported that one person in its care is in a serious condition, another in a moderate condition, with 17 more patients lightly injured following the rocket attacks on southern Israel.
Seven more people are being treated for trauma, the hospital added. (Haaretz)
9:35 A.M. Sirens sound again in Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon
The southern city of Ashkelon has been put on red alert once again on Tuesday morning in anticipation of rockets from the Gaza Strip. (Haaretz)
8:59 A.M. Israeli Arab students announce solidarity strike with Gaza, Jerusalem
Israel’s Arab citizens across the country will strike on Tuesday in solidarity with Palestinians in Jerusalem and Gaza, following the violent escalation on Monday night which left 24 Palestinians dead in the strip and hundreds more injured in both locations.
Classes in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem will also take place online in light of the security situation. (Yanal Jbareen)
8:47 A.M. Israel’s police commissioner, minister to send major reinforcements to demonstrations
Public Security Minister Amir Ohana and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai will send eight additional companies of Border Police to shore up the situation, with demonstrations spreading across Israel.
On Monday evening, protests took place in major cities across Israel in solidarity with Jerusalem and Gaza, with some turning violent. In Lod, one Arab man was shot and killed by a Jewish resident after 200 masked protesters began burning trashcans and hurling stones. (Josh Breiner)
8:30 A.M. IDF Spokesperson says attacks will intensify in coming days
IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman warned that the Israeli army has its “foot on the gas” and that attacks on the Gaza Strip are likely to intensify in the coming days.
Zilberman said that the Israeli army killed 15 Hamas operatives and struck 140 targets. This included sites manufacturing and storing rockets, training and military complexes, as well as two underground tunnels and the home of a battalion commander. He estimated that the round of violence will continue for “days.”
“There is one address in Gaza: it is called Hamas,” Zilberman said, and said the army intends to attack it “with great force.” (Haaretz)
7:54 A.M. Gaza Health Ministry reports 24 dead
Gaza’s Health Ministry updated its death toll on Tuesday morning to 24, including 9 children, following a night of Israeli strikes. The ministry also added that 103 people were injured in the Strip. (Haaretz)
6:53 A.M. Four of seven injured in Ashkelon rocket attack are couple and their two children
Four of the seven people injured after rockets hit two buildings in Ashkelon are members of the same family. The father, 40, is in moderate-to-serious condition and sustained a blow to the head; the mother (39) is in moderate condition; and the two children, ages 6 and 12, were lightly injured.
A 63-year-old man and 82-year-old woman were lightly injured. (Almog Ben Zikri)
6:30 A.M. IDF: Israel hit 130 Gaza targets, about 200 rockets fired from the Strip
Since the latest Gaza operation began Monday night, the Israel Defense Forces say it struck 130 targets in the Strip and hit 15 militants who fired rockets into Israeli territory. Among the targets were weapons factories and depots, training facilities belonging to Hamas and other groups and a Hamas intelligence control room in southern Gaza.
The IDF says it also struck two tunnels on the border with Israel and hit the home of a Hamas commander in a multi-story building. Gaza’s Palestinian Health Ministry reported 22 Palestinians killed in the strikes, including nine children and a woman, and 106 injured.
IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman told journalists on Tuesday that the military increased the number of Iron Dome batteries in central Israel in preparation for more rocket strikes.
Thus far, about 200 rockets have been fired into Israeli territory. About a third of the rockets that Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired landed in the Gaza Strip. (Yaniv Kubovich)
6:12 A.M. Seven injured in rocket strikes on Ashkelon
Two buildings in Ashkelon were hit by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. Seven people were evacuated to the hospital following the strikes, in light to serious conditions. (Almog Ben Zikri)
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5:47 A.M. Hamas: ‘If Israel continues to attack, we will turn Ashkelon into hell’
The spokesman of Hamas’ military wing, Abu Ubaidah, claimed responsibility for the heavy rocket barrage on Ashkelon and Gaza border communities overnight. “We fired rockets at Ashkelon following an Israeli strike that hit a house west of Gaza City. If Israel continues to attack, we will turn Ashkelon into hell,” he said. (Jack Khoury)
5:44 A.M. Palestinians: two killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that two more people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza overnight, raising the death toll to 22. It added that 106 people were wounded in the attacks. (Jack Khoury)
5:43 A.M. Rocket barrages fired at Ashkelon
Sirens sound in Ashkelon and Gaza border communities as heavy barrages are fired from Gaza. (Almog Ben-Zikri)
3:34 Rockets fired at the south
Rockets were fired at Sderot and the Gaza border communities after sirens sounded. (Almog Ben-Zikri)
1:33 Rocket sirens sound in the south
After a short lull, rocket alert sirens sounded once again in Sderot and other Gaza border communities in southern Israel. (Almog Ben-Zikri)
1:01 A.M. Hamas: Israel has until 2 A.M. to clear forces from Al-Aqsa Mosque
The spokesman of Hamas’ military wing, Abu Ubaidah, issued an ultimatum shortly after midnight that if Israel does not stop its “seige” of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Hamas will respond within two hours. (Jack Khoury)
12:12 A.M. IDF names Gaza operation
The Israeli military announced that the latest operation in Gaza is called Guardian of the Walls. (Yaniv Kubovich)
12:04 A.M. Rocket hits home in southern Israel
A home in the Gaza border community of Nir Am sustained a direct hit by a rocket fired from the Strip. No casualties are reported, but the home and property were damaged in the strike. (Almog Ben Zikri)
MONDAY
11:50 P.M. Kerem Shalom crossing closed
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Gen. Ghassan Alian, announced after a security assessment that the Kerem Shalom border crossing, through which goods are transferred to the Gaza Strip from Israel, be immediately closed until further notice.
11:22 P.M. Army says 150 Gaza rockets fired at Israel
Some 150 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip throughout the day, the Israeli military said in a statement.
Air defense systems intercepted dozens of them, the military added. (Yaniv Kubovich)
11:06 P.M. Five Tel Aviv-area suburbs call off school Tuesday
Five major Tel-Aviv suburbs have called off all school classes on Tuesday amid the recent escalation and fear of rocket fire. In a joint statement, the five mayors said: “we are not compromising when it comes to the safety of our inhabitants, children and teaching staff.”
The towns, which are south of Tel Aviv itself, are Rishon Letzion, Bat Yam, Holon, Nes Tziona and Rehovot. )Bar Peleg)
10:52 P.M. Israeli army strikes Hamas tunnel, killing militants
Israeli army jets attacked a Hamas tunnel Monday evening, the Israeli army said in a statement.
The tunnel, according to the army, was to be used to help militants carry out attacks in Israel. Several Hamas militants were killed in the attack, the army added. (Yaniv Kubovich)
10:38 P.M. Gaza rocket causes damage to property in south Israel
A rocket that landed in the Israeli town of Sderot on the Gaza border, caused minor damage to a nearby building. No casualties were reported. (Almog Ben Zikri)
10:32 P.M. Blinken says rocket attacks on Israel must stop ‘immediately’
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that the rocket attacks from Gaza against Israel should stop “immediately,” and he urged all sides to take steps to de-escalate the situation.
“I am deeply concerned about the rocket attacks,” Blinken said in brief remarks ahead of his meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at the State Department. Safadi also said the focus was to ensure the escalation stopped. (Reuters)
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