Heavy rocket fire on central, southern Israel; 300,000 reservists mobilized in 48 hours
IDF has the fastest call up of reserves in its history. IDF claims to have control of all border cities, but terrorists could still be present.
Two of the five people injured were seriously. The rockets fired by terrorists from Gaza Strip were aimed at southern and central Israel. One of those rockets exploded near Ben Gurion International Airport.
Magen David Adom said that it treated four people injured in Ashkelon, by rocket impacts. These included a 75-year old man in a serious condition, as well as two men aged between 55 and 30, who were in a moderate condition. One person was only lightly hurt.
MDA medics in Ashdod treated a woman who was severely injured by a rocket.
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The sirens could be heard as far north as Baqa al-Gharbiyye, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
The first sirens heard since Saturday were in many locations.
Iron Dome’s missile defense system intercepted or impacted multiple missiles, causing explosions.
A rocket fell near Ben Gurion Airport. The airport, however, said that it was operating normally.
The barrages were launched a day after Israel declared war on Gaza Strip, as the death toll grew to over 700. It was expected that the number would rise even further.
Gazan terrorists also fired thousands of rockets into Israel from speedboats, motorized gliders and pickup trucks, as well as motorized motorcycles. They hit homes in Tel Aviv, among other places.
At least 73 soldiers including senior officers and 34 policemen were among the 700 dead.
The number of injured has also increased. As of Monday morning, the Health Ministry reported that 2,382 patients had been treated in hospitals, including 22 who were in critical condition. Hundreds more people are also fighting for life.
Many people in the country were on edge due to the fear that terrorists might still be at large.
According to the top military spokesman, terrorists could still be in Israeli territory. Israel Defense Forces announced a few minutes later that troops had killed a Palestinian terrorist near the Gaza Strip border in Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
In a brief statement, the IDF stated that “fire exchanges continue between our forces against terrorists.”
The army recovered slowly from the shock of the battle, killing and capturing many attackers after the gunmen had ravaged the towns for long hours.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated that incidents of clashes on Monday between troops and Palestinian terrorists were “isolated.”
Hagari stated that three terrorists had been killed in the Shaar Hanegev regional council; one in Be’eri; five in Holit, Sufa and Alumim; and four in Alumim.
Hagari stated that it is possible terrorists are still in the area, but there were no active battles taking place in any of these towns.
Some terrorists were in Israel before the initial attack on Saturday while others crossed over to the other side of the border within the last two days.
Hagari said that tanks, combat helicopters, and drones will physically secure breaches of the Gaza border fence.
He said that the army had evacuated 15 of the 24 towns along the border and would continue to do so throughout Monday. However, the town of Sderot was not evacuated.
Additionally, Hagari stated that 4,400 rockets were launched at Israel since the conflict began on Saturday.
Hagari stated that the IDF had “never mobilized as many reservists at such a rapid pace — 300,000 in just 48 hours.”
Israel has mobilized the most reservists since 1973’s Yom Kippur War, when it called up 400,000.
The IDF has continued airstrikes and the military claims that it is hitting Hamas targets.
Overnight, Israel launched a large number of airstrikes in an effort to “devastate” the Hamas terror organization’s capabilities. This comes two days after Hamas unleashed unprecedented carnage in Israel that killed at least 700 civilians as well as security personnel. It was the most deadly day in Israel’s history.
The presence of more than 100 Israeli hostages may complicate Israeli plans to launch a large-scale counterattack on Gaza.
Abu Obeida is the Hamas spokesperson of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. He claimed that Israel bombed the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing four Israeli hostages.
The bombings of the occupation on the Gaza Strip tonight and today resulted in the death of four enemy prisoners, and the martyrdoms of their captors – the Qassam Mujahideen – according to a Telegram statement by Abu Obeida.
The 500 targets included eight Hamas war rooms and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s intelligence center, a building that housed Hamas operatives, several high-rise buildings housing Hamas assets, a Hamas command center run by a senior Hamas official and a mosque located in Jabaliya.
Hamas’ Gaza Strip health ministry reported that 493 Palestinians had been killed in the Gaza Strip since Saturday, and 2,300 others were injured. Israel Defense Forces have said that they have killed hundreds of Palestinian terrorists on Israeli territory.
The UN reported that as of late yesterday Israeli airstrikes destroyed 159 homes in Gaza and severely damaged another 1,210. UNRWA (UN agency for Palestinian refugees) said that a school housing more than 225 individuals was directly hit by an Israeli airstrike, but it did not specify the source of the fire.
The United Nations announced Monday that over 123,000 people had been displaced from the Gaza Strip following the conflict between Palestinian terrorists, and Israel.
Hamas gunmen launched an assault on 22 different locations in southern Israel, including small towns and communities up to 24 kilometers (15 miles) away from Gaza. They roamed in some areas for hours, shooting civilians and soldiers while Israel’s army, completely caught off-guard, tried to mount a reaction. Thousands of rockets were also fired into towns in the center and south of the country.
ZAKA, a group of volunteers that deals with human remains following terror attacks and disasters, reported Sunday night that the victims were 260 Israelis mostly young, who were killed by Hamas gunmen invading an outdoor music festival on southern I.
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