(Liveblogging below)
Sirens wail in Ashkelon and surrounding area
More rocket warnings in city near the Strip, with no reports of injuries or damage.
Departing US, Netanyahu says he’ll head straight for army HQ upon landing
Boarding his plane from Washington to Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he plans to head straight to IDF headquarters after landing in Tel Aviv Tuesday afternoon.
“We will deal with these issues,” he says. “We gave a very powerful response. Hamas needs to know that we won’t hesitate to go in [to Gaza] and take any required steps.”
He says the upcoming election in two weeks’ time is not a consideration. “This is unrelated to anything, not to any date, but only to Israel’s security needs.”
On the US recognition of the Golan, Netanyahu says it “is something that will be remembered for generations. It took us 50 years to achieve it.”
On Syrian claims to the plateau, he says US recognition underlines “one important principle in international relations: When you start wars of aggression, and lose territory, don’t come back and claim it later. It belongs to us.” Citing ancient synagogues discovered in the Golan. he says: “We returned there. The Golan is ours by historic right, and because of the right to self defense.”
Warning sirens blare in city of Ashkelon
More rocket alerts, this time in the coastal city of Ashkelon, just north of Gaza.
More warning sirens go off in Eshkol region
It is the second such rocket-launch alert since midnight.
Warning sirens once again ring out in southern Israel
Rocket warning alarms are being heard in the Eshkol Regional Council, suggesting a fresh launch at the area from Gaza.
School cancelled in Ashekelon as barrage of rockets fired at southern Israel
The Education Ministry has cancelled school and all other school-related activities in Ashkelon tomorrow, as dozens of rockets fired from the nearby Gaza Strip landed in and around communities in southern Israel.
The ministry says it is issuing instructions for Ashkelon and the surrounding communities at the recommendation of the Home Front Command. The statement says instructions the will be updated tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m.
IDF: 30 rockets launched at Israel since Hamas announced ceasefire
The IDF says that some 30 rockets have been fired at Israel since 10:00 p.m., when Hamas announced that an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire deal was going into effect.
In a statement, the army says that a number of the projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, and that nearly all the rest landed in open areas in southern Israel.
More rocket sirens in Gaza-adjacent town of Sderot
Another round of air raid sirens is triggered in the town of Sderot in the Shaar Hanegev region of southern Israel.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
At least 10 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip this evening have targeted the Sderot area, according to media reports. At least one home was hit, bu there were no reports of casualties from those rocket attacks.
More rocket sirens wail across southern Israel
Another round of air raid sirens is triggered in the Shaar Hanegev and Eshkol regions of southern Israel.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The sirens indicating an incoming rocket strike are sounding in the Gaza-adjacent communities, despite Hamas announcing that a ceasefire was set to go into effect at 10:00 p.m.
Netanyahu briefed on Gaza escalation in Washington
Israeli security officials are briefing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, DC, about the escalating tensions in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu is meeting with national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and military secretary Avi Blut at the Blair House, the official White House guest residence.
He is also discussing the situation with IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi and Shin Bet director Nadav Argaman.
Netanyahu is expected to return to Israel later this evening.
Home in Sderot damaged by Gaza rocket fire
A home in the southern town of Sderot is hit by shrapnel during a barrage of rockets and mortar shells from the Gaza Strip.
It is not immediately clear if the house was hit by one of the projectiles or by fragments of an Iron Dome interceptor missile, several of which were fired at the incoming fusillade.
Pictures of the direct hit in #Sderot following the last barrage of rockets launched from #Gaza to #Israel. No injuries reported. pic.twitter.com/9A9QbwkBpK— Observer IL – ????️????️????️ (@Obs_IL) March 25, 2019
Photographs of the scene show that a wall was hit by pieces of shrapnel and that a balcony awning was destroyed by the impact.
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