Updates From Israel:

Gaza terror groups identify majority of 23 killed in IDF strikes as members



The Times of Israel is liveblogging the events of Wednesday, November 13, a day after Israel was hit by 200 rockets following the killing of Islamic Jihad terror chief Baha Abu al-Ata in Gaza.

Rocket sirens wail in Kibbutz Sa’ad east of Gaza Strip

Rocket sirens sound in the Israeli community of Sa’ad, east of the Gaza Strip.

There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Hamas official tells Fox news group will join fighting if IDF strikes continue, contradicting spokesman

Fox News quotes a Hamas official who says, “If [Israeli] airstrikes and aggression continue, Hamas and the resistance groups will have to morally respond to and protect the Palestinian people.”

The comments contradict the remarks by the terror group’s spokesman who said Hamas is already involved in the fighting.

It has been widely reported that Hamas has not been directly involved in firing rockets at Israel during the latest round of violence.

Mortar shell from Gaza strikes empty greenhouse in Eshkol region

A mortar shell fired from the Gaza Strip strikes an empty greenhouse in the Eshkol region of southern Israel, causing damage but no injuries, an Eshkol spokesperson says.

Palestinian death toll rises to 23

The bodies of two Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the southern Gaza Strip arrived at a hospital in Khan Younis, the Hamas-run Health Ministry says.

A total of 23 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been killed since early Tuesday morning, according to the ministry.

At least 12 of the 23 killed were members of terror groups.

The IDF earlier said it had taken out two Islamic Jihad members who were preparing to fire rockets at Israel.

Gaza rocket hits water pipe in Eshkol region, causing large leak

A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip strikes a water pipe in the Eshkol region of southern Israel, causing a large leak.

“It is being handled by [the national water company] Mekorot,” an Eshkol regional spokesperson says.

A rocket from Gaza struck a water pipe in the Eshkol region of southern Israel, causing a large leak.

“It is being handled by [the national water company] Mekorot,” an Eshkol regional spokesperson says.

????: Gadash Halutz/Eshkol pic.twitter.com/e6hSG7LLZL

IDF aircraft takes out Islamic Jihad fighters preparing to launch rockets at Israel

An IDF aircraft bombs a group of Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives as they were preparing to fire rockets at Israel from the southern Gaza Strip, the military says.

“A hit was confirmed,” the IDF says.

Rejecting reports to contrary, Hamas spokesman says its members fighting alongside Islamic Jihad

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum says that the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, is fighting alongside the Al-Quds Brigades, Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s armed wing.

“We say to the occupation: You cannot single out Islamic Jihad, and the Qassam Brigades and the Al-Quds Brigades are [standing] side by side in the fighting,” Barhoum tells the Hamas-linked Shehab.

Both Hebrew and Arabic media have widely reported that Hamas has not joined the fighting against Israel.

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Massive early morning rocket fire from Gaza shatters brief overnight calm

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip resumed firing rockets into southern and central Israel after dawn Wednesday after a brief overnight respite in the violence. The Iron Dome system intercepted several of the projectiles, and there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Sirens sounded in southern Israel and then later in central Israel near Latrun and Beit Shemesh. Residents reported loud explosions, apparently the Iron Dome interceptors taking down the rockets.

Another salvo from Gaza was fired toward the southern city of Netivot. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

IDF strikes Islamic Jihad rocket production facility as barrages pummel south

The Israeli military on Wednesday conducted large-scale strikes against Palestinian Islamic Jihad sites in Gaza, including a major weapons manufacturing facility, as  terror groups continued firing regular barrages at southern Israel in response to the assassination of one of its senior commanders the day before.

The Israel Defense Forces said one of its aircraft also bombed a pair of PIJ members preparing to fire an anti-tank guided missile from the northern Gaza Strip. The use of anti-tank missiles — an expensive, highly accurate weapon — signifies a marked escalation by the terror group.

“In the latest round of strikes, the IDF stepped up the frequency of its attacks and the type of targets. During the strike, a major factory for the production of rocket warheads was attacked in the southern Gaza Strip. This is a site for the production of rockets and of the specialized raw materials for the manufacturing of long-range rockets,” the military said.

The IDF said that strike and others on the Islamic Jihad’s rocket facilities dealt the terror group a significant blow.

“The PIJ invests infrastructure and resources in its [rocket] production line, which is considered a key aspect in the organization’s abilities to rearm,” the military said.

IDF: Israeli forces are 'walking a tightrope' to prevent Hamas joining fray

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday said it believed the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group would continue firing rockets at Israeli cities and towns — but a smaller number, in order to maintain its arsenals and potentially keep fighting for several more days in retaliation for the slaying of a senior commander by Israel on Tuesday.

IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman told reporters that the military had deployed additional Iron Dome air defense systems to central Israel as a precaution against fresh attacks on the country’s most densely populated region. IDF commando units were also sent south to communities near the Gaza border in order to defend them in the case of infiltration attacks by terrorists from the Strip.

Zilberman said the military was not yet actively preparing for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip by sending large numbers of troops to the south or with large-scale call-ups of reservists. However, IDF chief Aviv Kohavi said Tuesday that such an operation remained an option.