Palestinian terror groups shot hundreds of rockets at Israel, and the Israel Defense Forces hit back and bombed more over 100 targets in the Gaza Strip, in an intense round of fighting that engulfed the region Saturday.
As of Saturday night, the fighting between the terror groups in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and Israel showed no signs of slowing, with a large volley of rockets being fired from Gaza at Beersheba just before midnight.
Over 250 hundred rockets were fired at Israel throughout the day, most of them at the towns closest to the Gaza border, but some reached as far as Beersheba, Rehovot and Ashdod. At least two Israeli civilians were wounded in the attacks, one of them an 80-year-old woman who was badly hurt.
Israel hit at least 120 targets in Gaza on Saturday, including a cross-border attack tunnel, an underground rocket factory and a six-story building used by Hamas’s military intelligence, in response to the hundreds of rockets and mortar shells fired at southern Israel throughout the day, the army said. At least two Palestinians were reported killed.
An Israeli military strike also hit a building housing the offices of the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency, prompting outcries of condemnation from Ankara. The IDF said the eight-story building was used by the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups to conduct terrorist activities.
The Israeli army said it was prepared to continue conducting airstrikes if the attacks from Gaza continued. An Israeli military source was quoted in Hebrew media predicting that the fighting could continue for several days. Terror groups in the enclave made similar threats, saying they would attack deeper into Israel if the IDF continued its strikes.
The IDF said it targeted dozens of bases and facilities controlled by the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups throughout the Strip. Despite the large number of targets, there were relatively few injuries reported in the strikes, as the targets had largely been abandoned ahead of time.
The army said that among its targets was an Islamic Jihad cross-border attack tunnel in southern Gaza. The military released footage showing members of the terror group excavating the underground passage, using ostensibly civilian vehicles and tools.
“In recent weeks [Islamic Jihad] has accelerated its digging in order to carry out an attack,” IDF spokesman Ronen Manelis said.
Rocket sirens sound in Lachish region
Rocket sirens are triggered in the Lachish region of southern Israel, east of the city of Ashdod, as terror groups in the Gaza Strip continue their attacks against Israel.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage caused by the rockets.
Rocket attacks reported near Ashkelon, Kerem Shalom
The fresh rocket attack triggers sirens in the city of Ashkelon and around the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
Palestinians say Israel has continued to conduct airstrikes in southern Gaza.
Fresh rocket sirens in south
Rocket sirens sound in several communities on the Gaza border, breaking about an hour of quiet.
6 in Beersheba treated for slight injuries linked to attacks
Six people with light injuries linked to Saturday’s fighting with Gaza were taken to Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center throughout the day, the hospital says.
They were hurt either while running to bomb shelters or required medical assistance after suffering anxiety attacks.
Beersheba hospital says it is preparing ‘for any possible scenario’
As rockets are launched toward the southern city of Beersheba, the local hospital says it is preparing “for any possible scenario.”
In a statement, the Soroka Medical Center says it is preparing to transfer patients with mobility issues to reinforced wings of the hospital.
For patients who are able to move, the hospital has set up clear signs pointing to the building’s bomb shelters.
IDF says keeping up strikes on Gaza as rocket fire continues
As rockets continue to be fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military says it is keeping up its airstrikes on “terror targets” in the coastal enclave.
“At this time, the strikes by fighter jets on terror targets belonging to the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups are continuing,” the army says.
School, house in Beersheba reported hit by Gaza rockets
Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip have hit a school and house in the southern city of Beersheba, according to Israeli television.
There are no reports of injuries. Channel 13 says the rocket sparked a fire in the school.
Gaza rocket barrage sets off sirens in Ashdod, other southern communities
A fresh round of sirens sound throughout southern Israel as Palestinian terrorists fire multiple barrages from the Gaza Strip.
The sirens are heard in the cities of Ashdod, Ofakim and Kiryat Malachi, and in smaller communities in the Merhavim, Hevel Yavne, Be’er Tuvia and Eshkol regions, the army says.
Hamas ministry puts death toll in Israeli strikes at 4
A Palestinian was killed by an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip late Saturday, the Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave says, bringing the Palestinian death toll for the day to four.
A spokesman for the health ministry tells AFP Khaled Abu Qleiq, 25, was hit and killed by an Israeli strike in northern Gaza.
Israeli air and tank strikes were launched in response to some 250 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel, according to the army.
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