The Times of Israel is liveblogging events as they unfold through Wednesday, August 20, the 44th day of Operation Protective Edge. Hamas breached a truce on Tuesday afternoon with a rocket salvo at Beersheba, prompting Israel to quit the Cairo negotiations on a long-term ceasefire. Rocket fire and IDF counter-strikes intensified later Tuesday and overnight.
Day 44 of Operation Protective Edge
PREAMBLE: Hamas breached a truce on Tuesday afternoon, firing a salvo of rockets into Beersheba and southern Israel.
Israel immediately recalled its negotiators from talks in a Cairo on a long-term ceasefire, and ordered the IDF to strike back at targets in Gaza.
Rocket fire intensified through the evening, with over 30 rockets fired by Hamas, including at Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv area. Iron Dome intercepted at least five rockets heading for residential areas. Israeli air strikes caused three fatalities, Gaza officials said.
UN’s Ban expresses ‘disappointment’ in truce collapse
The office of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon releasesa statement on the collapse of the ceasefire talks in Cairo. He does not assign blame for the breach of the truce.
“The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the breach of the Egyptian brokered humanitarian ceasefire which was to expire at midnight local time. He is gravely disappointed by the return to hostilities.
“The Secretary-General reminds both sides of their responsibility not to let the situation escalate. The hopes of the people in Gaza for a better future and the hopes of the people in Israel for sustainable security rest on the talks in Cairo. The Secretary-General calls on the delegations to live up to this expectation and urges the parties to reach an immediate understanding on a durable ceasefire which also addresses the underlying issues afflicting Gaza.”
56 rockets fired Tuesday
Channel 2 reports that 56 rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel Tuesday. Iron Dome intercepted 10.
Head of Southern Command tells south to prepare for massive fire
GOC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Sami Turgeman tells heads of the regional councils and government bodies near Gaza to prepare for massive rocket fire tonight, according to Ynet.
Rocket hits shopping center in southern Israel
One of the Hamas rockets hit a shopping center in the Ashkelon coastal region, causing damage but no injuries, Channel 2 reported late Tuesday.
In the midst of an extended truce, Palestinians fired a volley of rockets at Israeli territory on Tuesday afternoon, prompting Israel to launch fresh airstrikes on the Strip and declare that it was pulling out of talks on a long-term ceasefire in Cairo.
The Hamas rocket attacks, which intensified through Tuesday night, brought the collapse of Egyptian attempts to broker an end to a monthlong war between Israel and Hamas. Palestinian terrorists fired dozens of rockets and Israel responded with airstrikes across the Gaza Strip. Three Palestinians — two women and a 2-year-old girl — were killed in an airstrike on a house in Gaza City, Palestinian medical official Ashraf al-Kidra said.
In Cairo, Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas leader, said the dead included the wife and a child of Mohammed Deif, the Islamic terrorist group’s elusive military chief, who has escaped numerous Israeli assassination attempts in the past. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas leaders in Gaza.
Twenty-one people were wounded in a separate airstrike that hit a building that houses offices of Hamas’s Al Aqsa TV station, al-Kidra said. The fatalities were the first since a temporary truce was reached last Wednesday.
Israeli officials reported at least 50 rockets were fired late Tuesday, setting off air raid sirens throughout southern Israel and as far away as the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. There were no reports of injuries, though a piece of a rocket that was intercepted near Tel Aviv fell on a busy road.
Israel’s civil defense authority, the Home Front Command, ordered authorities to reopen public bomb shelters within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of Gaza.
In Cairo, Palestinian negotiators declared the cease-fire talks over, and said they would leave Egypt on Wednesday.
In nearly a week of indirect talks, Egypt appears to have made little headway in resolving the differences. Late Monday, it secured a 24-hour extension to a temporary truce to allow more time for a last-ditch attempt to reach a longer-term deal.
An Egyptian compromise proposal calls for easing the blockade, but not lifting it altogether or opening the territory’s air and seaports as Hamas has demanded.
While the plan does not require Hamas to give up its weapons, it would give Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas, whose forces were ousted by Hamas in 2007, a foothold back in Gaza running border crossings and overseeing internationally-backed reconstruction. Abbas’s presence would minimize friction with Israel and allow large amounts of international aid to flow into Gaza for reconstruction.
“Following renewed rocket attacks at Israel earlier this evening, amid the ceasefire, the IDF is currently targeting terror sites across the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said in a statement late Tuesday.
“The IDF remains alert and maintains both defensive and striking capabilities in order to address the renewed aggression. The IDF is determined to defend the civilians of the State of Israel.”
“Yet again, terrorists breach the ceasefire and renew fire at Israeli civilians from Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. This continued aggression will be addressed accordingly by the IDF; we will continue striking terror infrastructure, pursuing terrorists, and eliminating terror capabilities in the Gaza Strip, in order to restore security for the State of Israel,” said IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner.
The IDF said late Tuesday night that a total of 50 rockets from Gaza had been fired towards Israel since the afternoon hours.
According to the IDF Spokesperson, six of the 50 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system. The rest exploded in open regions, causing no physical injuries or damages.
The IDF further noted that it attacked 30 terrorist targets in Gaza throughout the day.
A ceasefire in Gaza that was extended on Monday night until Tuesday at midnight was violated by Hamas hours before it concluded, as the terrorist group fired rockets towards Be’er Sheva at around 4:00 p.m.
Heavy rocket fire hit southern and central Israel at around 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening, and at least one rocket was also fired towards Jerusalem.
Hamas blamed Israel for violating the ceasefire and declared on Tuesday night that Israel had “opened the gates of hell”.
In a statement, the group’s so-called “military wing” said that it had resumed the rocket fire on Israel because the Israeli Air Force
According to the IDF Spokesperson, six of the 50 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system. The rest exploded in open regions, causing no physical injuries or damages.
The IDF further noted that it attacked 30 terrorist targets in Gaza throughout the day.
A ceasefire in Gaza that was extended on Monday night until Tuesday at midnight was violated by Hamas hours before it concluded, as the terrorist group fired rockets towards Be’er Sheva at around 4:00 p.m.
Heavy rocket fire hit southern and central Israel at around 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening, and at least one rocket was also fired towards Jerusalem.
Hamas blamed Israel for violating the ceasefire and declared on Tuesday night that Israel had “opened the gates of hell”.
In a statement, the group’s so-called “military wing” said that it had resumed the rocket fire on Israel because the Israeli Air Force
Hamas declared on Tuesday night that Israel had “opened the gates of hell”.
In a statement, the group’s so-called “military wing” said that it hadresumed the rocket fire on Israel because the Israeli Air Force had launched an airstrike on a home in Gaza.
The group warned that “the price will be a heavy one”.
Senior Hamas official Ezzat al-Rishq warned, according to AFP, "Israel will not enjoy security so long as the Palestinian people do not, and it started it."
While the latest truce between Israel and Hamas was set to end at midnight on Tuesday, Hamas violated it hours before it expired, firing rockets towards Be’er Sheva on Tuesday afternoon around 4:00 p.m.
Heavy rocket fire hit southern and central Israel at around 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening.
At least one rocket reportedly hit open ground in Tel Aviv; another five hit open land in Be'er Sheva. Another rocket was reportedly shot down over central Israel.
Sirens were sounded in the Gush Dan region, the Shfela coastal plain, Ashdod, Be'er Sheva and various areas near Gaza.
Sirens were heard shortly thereafter in the city of Beit Shemesh and in parts of Judea.
Two rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system over Sderot. Two more rockets were intercepted over Be'er Sheva.
Two more rockets exploded in the Eshkol region of southern Israel shortly after 11:30 p.m. They exploded in open areas, causing no physicalinjuries or damages.
Shortly before midnight, Gaza terrorists also targeted Jerusalem, firing at least one rocket towards the region that was intercepted by the Iron Dome system.
In a statement, the group’s so-called “military wing” said that it hadresumed the rocket fire on Israel because the Israeli Air Force had launched an airstrike on a home in Gaza.
The group warned that “the price will be a heavy one”.
Senior Hamas official Ezzat al-Rishq warned, according to AFP, "Israel will not enjoy security so long as the Palestinian people do not, and it started it."
While the latest truce between Israel and Hamas was set to end at midnight on Tuesday, Hamas violated it hours before it expired, firing rockets towards Be’er Sheva on Tuesday afternoon around 4:00 p.m.
Heavy rocket fire hit southern and central Israel at around 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening.
At least one rocket reportedly hit open ground in Tel Aviv; another five hit open land in Be'er Sheva. Another rocket was reportedly shot down over central Israel.
Sirens were sounded in the Gush Dan region, the Shfela coastal plain, Ashdod, Be'er Sheva and various areas near Gaza.
Sirens were heard shortly thereafter in the city of Beit Shemesh and in parts of Judea.
Two rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system over Sderot. Two more rockets were intercepted over Be'er Sheva.
Two more rockets exploded in the Eshkol region of southern Israel shortly after 11:30 p.m. They exploded in open areas, causing no physicalinjuries or damages.
Shortly before midnight, Gaza terrorists also targeted Jerusalem, firing at least one rocket towards the region that was intercepted by the Iron Dome system.
A rocket barrage from Gaza on Tuesday evening targeted Jerusalem.
Sirens were heard in the capital and its vicinity shortly before midnight. The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted a rocket over the region.
There were no physical injuries or damages.
The attack on Jerusalem follows a barrage of rockets that hit southern and central Israel beginning shortly before 11:00 p.m.
At least one rocket reportedly hit open ground in Tel Aviv; another five hit open land in Be'er Sheva. Another rocket was reportedly shot down over central Israel.
Sirens were sounded in the Gush Dan region, the Shfela coastal plain, Ashdod, Be'er Sheva and various areas near Gaza.
Sirens were heard shortly thereafter in the city of Beit Shemesh and in parts of Judea.
Two rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system over Sderot. Two more rockets were intercepted over Be'er Sheva.
Two more rockets exploded in the Eshkol region of southern Israel shortly after 11:30 p.m. They exploded in open areas, causing no physicalinjuries or damages.
On Tuesday afternoon shortly before 4 p.m., hours before the third extension of a ceasefire in Gaza was supposed to have come to an end,rocket explosions were heard in Be'er Sheva.
Sirens were heard in the capital and its vicinity shortly before midnight. The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted a rocket over the region.
There were no physical injuries or damages.
The attack on Jerusalem follows a barrage of rockets that hit southern and central Israel beginning shortly before 11:00 p.m.
At least one rocket reportedly hit open ground in Tel Aviv; another five hit open land in Be'er Sheva. Another rocket was reportedly shot down over central Israel.
Sirens were sounded in the Gush Dan region, the Shfela coastal plain, Ashdod, Be'er Sheva and various areas near Gaza.
Sirens were heard shortly thereafter in the city of Beit Shemesh and in parts of Judea.
Two rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system over Sderot. Two more rockets were intercepted over Be'er Sheva.
Two more rockets exploded in the Eshkol region of southern Israel shortly after 11:30 p.m. They exploded in open areas, causing no physicalinjuries or damages.
On Tuesday afternoon shortly before 4 p.m., hours before the third extension of a ceasefire in Gaza was supposed to have come to an end,rocket explosions were heard in Be'er Sheva.
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