Mortar and Rocket Attacks on Israel

On Tuesday the southern region of Israel came under fire from mortars and rockets launched by terrorists in the Gaza Strip.  Whilst more than 30 mortars were launched it seems that few actually landed In Israel. By the grace of God, one which landed in a kindergarten struck before the children had arrived, only lightly wounding one member of staff.

The IDF hit back, striking 35 terrorist targets in Gaza belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including another cross-border tunnel.

Overnight, thousands of Israelis have stayed in bomb shelters as the rocket and mortar fire continued with more than 40 missiles being aimed at Israeli communities near the Gaza border. Some of the projectiles were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system and there were no injuries reported.

These attacks over the last two days reveal the true intentions of Hamas towards Israel, despite their claims that the recent round of protests at the border had been peaceful.

Unusually there has been much international condemnation of the terrorists’ actions – they often receive more gentle treatment, with much of the blame being allocated to Israel.

The United States has responded to the attacks by calling for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

On Thursday the IDF issued an update in the face of criticism that it had not struck the terrorist cells who launched the missiles at Israel. Of the many missiles that terrorists launched, more than 100 were on course to hit targets in Israel, whilst others fell short of the border.

The Iron Dome defence system eliminated many of the missiles heading towards Israeli communities, but a few got through, injuring a total of 4 people.

Instead of striking the terrorists who launched the missiles, the IDF chose to hit 65 targets that including a drone storage facility, a weapons manufacturing site and a naval base, all belonging to Hamas.

It seems that Hamas are starting to make more use of drones – smuggling the components into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. One laden with explosives was found in Israel last week after it had crashed.

A drone that was captured in a failed smuggling attempt.

This article was first published on 30th May and updated on 31st May 2018.