It Looks Like War Has Officially Begun As Hamas Announces Start Of Hostilities With 100 Rockets Fired At Israel From Gaza Strip

After yesterday’s firefight in Gaza, escalation between the IDF and Gaza appears inevitable.

Air sirens were heard in kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, kibbutz Holit and kibbutz Sufa located in the Eshkol Regional Council in south Israel. The Home Front Command instructed civilians in the cities of Beer Sheva, Ofakim and in the Lachish region to stay near protected areas.

[18:20] Netanyahu meets with senior security officials as Gaza situation escalates

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Monday evening with Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, IDF Chief of Staff, and senior officers for security consultation on the situation in Gaza, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

Upon his arrival, the prime minister received a security briefing from senior defense officials.

FROM THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: According to the Israel Defense Forces, more than 100 projectiles were fired at Israel in less than 40 minutes, triggering sirens in Beersheba and even as far away as the Dead Sea and the West Bank’s Hebron Hills. If rockets were indeed aimed at the Dead Sea, it would represent the longest range attack by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza since the 2014 Gaza war.

A number of incoming rockets and mortar shells from Gaza were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, while several others struck homes and buildings in Israeli communities near the border, causing injuries and damage.

הסלמה בדרום | תיעוד משריפה שפרצה לאחר נפילת רקטה בשדרות pic.twitter.com/hhJtFqNjS1

— חדשות עשר (@news10) November 12, 2018

In response to the heavy barrage from the Gaza Strip, Israeli fighter jets launched a series of air raids against targets in the coastal enclave, the military said. At least two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the air raids in the northern Gaza Strip and three others were wounded, the Hamas-run health ministry in the Strip said.

The attacks from Gaza came less than a day after an IDF special operations officer was killed in an operation gone awry that also killed seven Palestinian gunmen in the Strip. Following Sunday night’s incident, the Gaza-ruling terror group Hamas said “the blood of our righteous martyrs will not be wasted.”

The renewed clashes dashed hopes that Israel and Hamas would uphold a recent ceasefire agreement brokered by Egypt and the United Nations and supported by Qatar.

Mortar and rocket attacks sparked fires in the southern Israeli towns of Sderot and Netivot. In Sderot, three people were also lightly wounded, apparently by shrapnel, after a rocket exploded near them, medics said.

In total, seven people were taken to Ashkelon’s Barzilai Hospital for treatment.

The barrage triggered incoming rocket sirens throughout southern Israel, sending hundreds of thousands of Israelis rushing to bomb shelters for cover.

The Israeli military ordered residents of communities near the Gaza Strip to remain inside bomb shelters until further notice. Residents of the cities of Beersheba, Ashkelon and other parts of the northern Negev were told to stay within close distance of their bomb shelter or other protected spaces.

No large gatherings were permitted in southern Israel, the army said. READ MORE