Some 200 rockets were fired towards central and southern Israel on Wednesday afternoon, setting off sirens in the Shfela region, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Beersheba. The Iron Dome intercepted 90% of the launches. Some 30 rockets fell within the Gaza Strip. One of the rockets struck a building in Ashdod but no injuries were reported, while few fell in open fields in Ashkelon, igniting fires, and in Sderot, one rocket fell between two cars, while another directly hit a house. Additionally, some 13 rockets were launched towards Beersheba, eight of them were intercepted by the Iron Dome, while the rest fell in open areas, with no injuries reported.
A rocket that fell in Sderot directly hit a residential home on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. (Credit: Sderot Municipality)One Israeli was lightly wounded from mortar fire along the Gaza border. He was taken to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon for medical attention. According to a statement by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, three mortar shells were fired towards the Kerem Shalom Crossing where a shipment of humanitarian aid from Jordan was passing through.Following the mortar fire“ the decision was made to stop the entry of the shipment until further notice. The shipment contained a number of trucks carrying medical equipment slated for delivery to the Jordanian hospital in the Gaza Strip,” the statement read, adding that “this is the second time in 24 hours in which Hamas shoots at shipments transporting humanitarian and medical aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip.The rocket barrage came after a relatively calm morning which followed an eventful night during which Hamas aimed rockets at Israel Air Force bases in the South – including Tel Nof, Nevatim and Ramon.“The bases that the Al Qassam Brigades targeted are Hatzor, Hatzerim, Nevatim, Tel Nof, Palmachim, and Ramon,” Hamas said in a statement.Incoming rocket sirens were activated in the Gaza border communities, the southern cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod as well as the towns of Rehovot, Nes Ziona and Palmachim in the center of the country.IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Hidai Zilberman said that no rockets impacted the bases, where planes had been taking off and landing throughout the night. One projectile did land in an open field in proximity to the Tel Nof Airbase near Rehovot.A relatively quiet night, from 7pm on Tuesday until 7am on Wednesday, some 50 rockets were fired towards Israel from the Hamas-run enclave, with 10 of them falling inside the Strip. There was no damage or injuries.Overnight Tuesday, the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) targeted an apartment which housed the headquarters of Hamas’ cyber wing in Gaza City. Three Hamas officials were eliminated. Air Force jets struck additional sections of the Hamas “Metro” underground tunnel network on Wednesday, this time focusing on the southern Gaza Strip in Khan Younis and Rafah. The IDF said that 52 airplanes dropped some 120 munitions in 25 minutes, destroying 12 kilometers of the network. Zilberman said that the military beleives that at least 10 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives were killed in the overnight strikes. Other than the tunnel network, the IAF also struck a number of targets in the upscale Gaza City neighborhood of Rimal, and “after 36hours of strikes,” the military has finished its airstrikes in the area, Zilberman said.On Wednesday morning the IDF said that it struck a weapons production site belonging to Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. While a large majority of Operation Guardian of the Walls has been carried out by the Air Force, over 400 targets have been struck by troops from the Gaza Division. Along with soldiers from the elite Maglan, Shaldag and Egoz units who have taken part using Spike LR missiles, hundreds of targets were struck by artillery shells and tanks.A senior commander in the Gaza Division told reporters on Wednesday that anti-tank guided missiles are a major threat that there have been 40 strikes against ATGM cells. Due to the focus of troops against those cells, Hamas feels hunted and vulnerable, he said.The IDF has also thwarted tens of attacks planned by Hamas against Israel, including raids where operatives would have come up to the border using their tunnel network in order to attack IDF troops. One such raid was thwarted in recent days.According to the senior commander, the IDF debated evacuating civilians from the Gaza border region, especially those living four kilometers or less from the border. While the military did not use their evacuation plan, 40% of residents in southern Israel have left their homes due to the fighting.
SINCE THE beginning of the fighting, over 4,000 rockets and mortars have been fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, with over 500 falling short and landing inside the coastal enclave. Magen David Adom reported that 12 people in Israel have died since the beginning of the fighting and over 330 have been injured.The Gaza health ministry says a total of 245 people have died since the beginning of the fighting, including 68 children & 37 women. Another 1,530 people have been wounded.
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