WarSclerotic

8 rockets from Gaza in recent hours; Hamas cla… JPost – Defense.

( This rocket onslaught  is begging for a strong retaliation.  Why now?  My guess is to take pressure off Assad and distract from the failing talks in Moscow.   Hamas is taking credit to win favor with the new Islamist government in Egypt and Iran. – JW )

Update:

23:14 – No more updates for some hours.  Gotta put this carcass down.  – JW

22:35 – The four people injured by a Kassam rocket late Tuesday night were Border Police officers, The Jerusalem Post learned.

One of the officers was seriously injured when a Kassam rocket directly struck a building on a kibbutz in the Ashkelon Coast region. Three others were lightly injured. Magen David Adom paramedics evacuated the injured to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.

22:23 – Three people in the Ashkelon Coast area were injured, one moderately from a Kassam rocket attack launched by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip Tuesday night. The three were injured from shrapnel in a direct hit, a Magen David Adom spokesman said.

22:14 – Palestinians fired 2 more rockets from Gaza into southern Israel on Tuesday evening.

21:05 – Three rockets fell in the town of Netivot, another fell in the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council, and a fifth fell in the Eshkol Regional Council.

Within 21 hours, Palestinian terrorists fired 44 rockets into southern Israel. 34 fell in the Negev region and 10 exploded in the Lachish area.

No injuries or damages were reported.

20:02 – Defense Minister Ehud Barak called a meeting of the top military and intelligence echelon to discuss the escalation in the southern sector. A Defense Ministry source said that “a wide range of retaliatory actions are under review.” (Yoav Zitun)  

19:58 – Gaza terrorists fire 31 rockets at Israel since midnight:

19:45 – Palestinians in Gaza fire 22 rockets in 24 hours

19:15 – Another volley of rockets at communities in the South: nine Qassam rockets fired from Gaza into the Negev Regional Council fields. All the rockets exploded in open areas, without causing casualties or damage.

Palestinians fired three more rockets into southern Israel on Tuesday afternoon, bringing the total number of rockets fired from Gaza in recent hours to 13. – Palestinians fire total of 19 rockets at Israel in past 24 hours

By JPOST.COM STAFF, YAAKOV LAPPIN

06/19/2012 16:04

Palestinians fire a total of 14 rockets at Israel in past 24 hours; IAF strikes launching squad, at least one reported seriously injured; Hamas claims responsibility for 10 launches in latest round of violence.

Photo: Nikola Solic / Reuters

Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired eight rockets into Israeli territory within the span of an hour Tuesday afternoon, with Hamas claiming responsibility for at least ten launches in the past 24 hours. The IDF said aircraft carried out a targeted strike against the launching squad responsible for the latest barrage, from which at least one person was seriously injured, according to Palestinian reports.

Including the latest barrage, which landed in open fields in the Eshkol Regional Council, Palestinian terrorist have fired 14 rockets into Israel since Monday, all of which failed to cause any damage or injuries.

Earlier, Hamas claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire, claiming that it was responding to the killing of Palestinians in recent days. The IAF killed four Palestinian terrorists in the last 24 hours, at least two of whom were members of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group.

In a statement released by Hamas’s armed wing, the Izzaddin al-Kassam Brigades, the group said that it fired three mortars aimed at an IDF base in Zikim. It later claimed responsibility for 10 launches.

The announcement marks a significant departure from the Islamist group’s previous position. In recent rounds of violence along the Gaza border, Hamas has refrained from launching rockets and mortar shells itself while allowing other Palestinian terror groups to do so.

Early Tuesday morning, the Israel Air Force struck a terrorist cell that was in the process of planting an explosive device near the border of the central Gaza Strip, confirming a direct hit. Two Palestinians, both believe to be Islamic Jihad operatives, were killed.

On Monday, a terror cell operating from Sinai crossed into Israel, killing a construction worker near the border fence. A force from the Golani Brigade immediately arrived at the scene, killing two terrorists in the ensuing gunfight.

Hours after the attack, an IAF aircraft targeted a motorbike in Gaza, killing two Islamic Jihad men who were part of a terror cell responsible for recent shooting attacks along the border.

Yaakov Katz contributed to this story.

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