Israel Will Escalate Gaza Strikes as Rocket Attacks Increase
Image by Getty Images
The Israeli government is planning to escalate its attacks on Hamas and other terrorist groups slamming southern Israel with rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
The security Cabinet decided at a three-hour meeting on Monday to steadily increase Israel’s military retaliation, according to reports.
The Israel Defense Forces said it was calling up some 1,500 reserves in preparation for the expanded operations near the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Hamas claimed responsibility for dozens of rocket attacks — estimated at more than 40 by the IDF — that struck southern Israel from 8 to 9 Monday night. The bombing continued throughout the night, causing damage in several communities.
The Iron Dome defense system intercepted 12 rockets from the attacks — seven above Ashdod and five over Netivot — the IDF said. Another rocket was intercepted later over Beersheba.
Residents in southern Israeli communities within 25 miles of the Gaza border were advised to stay within 15 seconds of a shelter or protected room. It also ordered the municipalities of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Beersheba, as well as the Southern regional councils, to open and prepare public bomb shelters.
Summer camps and special education programs were canceled Tuesday in Ashdod.
The IDF denied reports that one of its airstrikes had killed six Hamas terrorists in a secret tunnel, saying Hamas operatives had collapsed the tunnel themselves by mishandling explosives intended to attack Israel.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday night called for an immediate end to Israeli military strikes on Gaza, calling on the international community to help put a stop to the attacks, according to reports.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki in a regular briefing with reporters Monday afternoon denounced the rocket barrage and said Israel has the right to defend its citizens.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
