At least 250 rockets from Gaza overnight. Six injured. First 7 aimed at Jerusalem
The Palestinian rocket barrage from Gaza escalated to 250 during Monday night with no letup on Tuesday morning, May 11. A direct hit to a house injured a family of 4 and two others. Barzilai Hospital reports 31 injured casualties. In one strike after another, the IDF struck 130 Hamas and Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip, mainly weapons production and storing facilities, two tunnels and the home of a Hamas leader. Early Tuesday, the western district of Gaza City and the southern town of Rafah took hits.
Terrorist attacks spilled over the Green Line into Israel’s towns and the Bedouin of northern Negev, where 43 rioters were detained. Violent outbreaks occurred in Lod, Ramleh and Galilee. In Judea and Samaria, 150 fires were caused by Palestinian firebombs overnight. Eight Border Guard reserve units are to be mobilized to support the heavily burdened police forces.
DEBKAfile reported Monday night:
Several multiple rocket barrages were launched from the Gaza Strip on Monday, May 10, following a Hamas ultimatum to Israel to evacuate police from Temple Mt by 1800s. Three hours later, Islamic Jihad added another 15 to the roughly 60 fired by Hamas. Seven of the first round were aimed at Jerusalem. The ones not intercepted by Iron Dome, exploded near Bet Shemesh, Kiryat Anavim, Maaleh Hahamisha and Beit Hakerem in Jerusalem, causing damage to property. A Cornet anti-air rocket hit an Israel car and set it on fire. The driver who was outside the vehicle was slightly injured by the blast.
Ashkelon and the regions abutting the Gaza Strip took the brunt of the rocket blitz, although some also hit Kiryat Gat and Lachish, farther afield.
In the expectation of a disturbed night, hundreds of thousands of people in southern Israel retired to shelters and fortified premises. The military informed them that schools would be shut until further notice within a radius of 40km from the Gaza border.
On Monday night, Israel launched its first retaliatory strikes Hamas and fellow terrorist organizations in the northern and southern Gaza Strip. The IDF pledged that was but the first strike of what was to be a “significant” campaign of several days to break the back of the terrorist organizations’ offensive capabilities. The Palestinians reported an initial 9 dead, including three Hamas activists.
Ahead of the spiraling crisis linked to the unrest in Jerusalem, the highways of southern Israel were cleared of traffic, rail transport suspended and hospitals alerted to prepare for casualty victims of terror. Boosted IDF units stood ready to counter escalated Palestinian aggression.
The Jerusalem Day Flag Parade continued to dance its way from Jaffa Gate through the Old City to the Western Wall although they were told to take shelter when the first rocket alerts were sounded in the capital. They were then dispersed by the police. However, several hundred made their way to the Western Wall to carry on singing and dancing for hours. Overhead, on Temple Mount, the flames of a fire were visible. The fire was ignited by Palestinian activists spending the night inside Al Aqsa mosque to pin the blame on Israel for the three days of violent outbreaks at a shrine sacred to three world faiths.
The Palestinian rocket barrage from Gaza escalated to 250 during Monday night with no letup on Tuesday morning, May 11, with no let-up. A direct hit to a house injured a family of 4 and two others. Barzilai Hospital reports 26 injured casualties. In one strike after another, the IDF struck 130 Hamas and Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip, mainly weapons production and storing facilities, two tunnels and the home of a Hamas leader. Early Tuesday, the western district of Gaza City and the southern town of Rafah took hits.
Terrorist attacks spilled over the Green Line into Israel’s towns, the Bedouin of northern Negev, where 43 rioters were detained. Violent outbreaks occurred in Lod, Ramleh and Galilee. In Judea and Samaria, 150 fires were caused by Palestinian firebombs overnight. Eight Border Guard reserve units are to be mobilized to support the heavily burdened police forces.
DEBKAfile reported Monday night:
