“Terror targets civilians, we target terror,” says Israel striking 350 targets of Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives

News Bharati    07-May-2019
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Jerusalem, May 7: With intensified situation, the fight between Israel and Gaza escalated on Sunday in one of the worst battle since the last in 2014. Overnight Saturday, as terror groups continued to fire rockets and mortar shells at Israel, the Israel Defence Force announced a number of security measures for Israeli cities and towns within 40 kilometers of the Gaza border.

Retaliating to the terror attack, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed that the Israel Defence Force in the last two days struck Hamas and Islamic Jihad with great force. Hitting over 350 targets the defence also struck at terrorist leaders and operatives and have destroyed terrorist buildings. This was in response to the barrages of rockets fired from the coastal enclave.

The Israeli military says it targeted “rocket launch sites, terror squads & operatives, command and training centers, weapon facilities, observation posts and military compounds” after hundreds of rockets and mortars were fired at Israel over two days. The army added that the targets are connected to both the Hamas terror group, which rules Gaza, and the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad.


 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also added that Israel will continue its “massive attacks” against terrorist elements in the Gaza Strip, following a weekend which saw more than 300 rockets fired on southern Israel. In addition, Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting, he gave the directive to reinforce the IDF troops around Gaza with additional tank, artillery and infantry units.

 

He said, “Hamas bears responsibility not only for its attacks and actions, but also for the activities of the Islamic Jihad, and it is paying a very heavy price”. Adding further he said, “we are acting, and will continue to act, to restore quiet and security to the residents of the south,” and called on them to continue to abide by the directives of the Home Front Command, which he termed “life-saving” orders.


What Happened in Israel?

The situation of fighting in Gaza raised on Sunday after Hamas deliberately issued rocket attacks. It was retaliated by Israel military through air strikes. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed Hamas fired hundreds of rockets from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel Saturday in the first attack on Tel Aviv since 2014. By Sunday, the IDF said the number of rockets fired total 600. Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted and neutralized at least 150 of these rockets before they hit their intended targets.

 

The IDF said Sunday it has conducted attacks on more than 260 military targets in Gaza, including an assault on what the Israeli military described as a “building where Hamas cyber operatives work” and a targeted attack against a Palestinian militant commander it says funneled money to “terror organizations operating within the Gaza Strip.”

Current situation in Israel: 

The intense fight between Israel and Hamas has reached to a cease-fire that claimed the lives of four Israelis. Also, the Israel Defense Forces announced that Israeli civilians can resume their normal daily routine and that schools would operate as usual as the special emergency precautions were no longer necessary.