Two Israelis, a man in his 40s and a seven-year-old girl, were killed after a rocket scored a direct hit on a car in Lod early Wednesday morning in a fresh barrage launched by terrorists in the Gaza Strip toward the center of Israel. The rocket struck Lod as the mixed Jewish-Arab city was shaken by violent riots throughout the night and brought the death toll in Israel up to five since the fighting began on Monday. Two women were killed in Ashkelon on Tuesday afternoon and in the evening, another woman was killed by a rocket that struck in Rison Lezion.
More rockets pounded Israel throughout Tuesday night into Wednesday morning with sirens sounding throughout the center of the country and particularly in the South, including Tel Aviv and Beersheba.
The IDF continued its airstrikes on various terror targets in the Gaza Strip throughout the night, including against a multi-story residential building in Gaza which the military said was home to the terror group’s intelligence, public relations and Gaza brigade units. Civilians present were warned to evacuate before the bombing.
Other strikes targeted what the military said were rocket launch sites and Hamas offices. Palestinians in Gaza claimed that at least 35 have been killed since the fighting began.
RAW FOOTAGE: This is the moment the Iron Dome intercepted a barrage of rockets over Tel Aviv and central Israel. pic.twitter.com/8jl8OTgWCl— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 11, 2021
It was the heaviest offensive between Israel and Hamas since the 2014 war in Gaza, and prompted international concern that the situation could spiral out of control.
In another attack, the IDF struck two Hamas operatives responsible for some of the recent rocket launches into Israel: Hassan Kaogi, the head of Hamas’ military intelligence security wing, as well as his second-in-command, Wail Issa, the head of Hamas’ intelligence counterintelligence wing.
Additionally, the IDF eliminated more senior Hamas officials, including Bassam Issa, the Gaza Brigade commander, Rafa Salama, the Khan Younis Brigade commander and Mohammed Yazouri, the Hamas intelligence commander.
The Iron Dome was activated early Wednesday morning in the city of Dimona, home to Israel’s nuclear reactor, to intercept a rocket heading for the city.
A multi-story building destroyed by the IDF in Gaza on May 12 and said to be the base for Hamas’s intelligence units. (IDF) On Tuesday night, sirens sounded throughout the center of the country in what officials said was the largest rocket barrage against Tel Aviv in its history. The rockets set off sirens in Herzliya, Ra’anana and the Sharon region. The barrage came after Israel bombed a 13-story building in Gaza.
“Hamas and Islamic Jihad have paid and will continue to pay,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We are all mourning those killed and praying for those who were injured. We all give our full support to the IDF and Israeli security forces. This campaign will take time.”
Israel has “the right and the obligation to act and will continue to do so,” added Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
The Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility on Wednesday morning for over 100 rockets fired at Tel Aviv and 100 rockets fired at Beersheba. Some 1,000 rockets have been fired into Israel since the beginning of the hostilities on Monday.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, said Israel had “ignited fire in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa and the flames extended to Gaza, therefore, it is responsible for the consequences.”
Haniyeh said that Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations had been in contact urging calm but that Hamas’s message to Israel was: “If they want to escalate, the resistance is ready, if they want to stop, the resistance is ready.”
Of those injured from the rocket attacks, two were in serious condition: an 81-year-old woman and a 30-year-old woman who was injured by shrapnel in her upper body.
Additionally, four Israelis were are in moderate condition and more than two dozen sustained light injuries, with 16 of them hurt while running for cover during rocket attacks.
First aid responders treated 43 civilians for anxiety and trauma, with few requiring additional medical attention.
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