Sirens were sounded in Tel Aviv and surrounding areas Friday as Hamas said it fired rockets deep into Israel. The Palestinian militant group described the salvo as a response to mounting civilian deaths in the Gaza war. Medics reported two women in Tel Aviv suffered shrapnel wounds from the salvo, which followed a relative lull in rocket fire as Israeli forces pressed a ground offensive in Gaza in the fifth week of the war.
While Israel won’t say how many rockets have been fired from the Gaza enclave, IDF sources tell CNN that there has been a dramatic drop in launches. It is not clear whether the reduction was the result of the IDF’s progress in its ground operation in Gaza, which has pushed Hamas back from the border zone, or simply a temporary tactical decision by the terrorist organization.
The lull has brought some relief to Israel’s southern cities, which have endured the brunt of rocket attacks from Gaza during the conflict. The slackening of fire has also helped to ease tension among Israelis who fear being sucked into a prolonged military operation in the Gaza Strip, which could devastate the populated and overcrowded coastal enclave of 2 million people crammed into 140 square miles.
The IDF says it has seized control of 80% of the territory held by Hamas, though the terrorist group continues to fire rockets and mortar shells at civilian targets inside Israel. IDF jets have struck Hamas positions 25 times this morning, including a rocket that hit a house in Sderot.
Earlier, residents of Kibbutz Beeri and Kibbutz Nir Oz told the country’s Channel 12 TV station that assailants from Gaza were trying to break into their homes. They called on the government for help.
Another video, posted to social media, appears to show a group of people being loaded onto the back of a truck flanked by Hamas militants and led away with chants of “Allahu Akbar.” It has not been confirmed to be true.
One rocket landed near Sderot, triggering an alert but causing no injuries. Three other rockets landed in the Sha’ar Hanegev region but were not close enough to trigger sirens.
The IDF has defended its strategy in Gaza, saying it needs to make sure the entire population is on notice that this is not an ordinary conflict. It also says the army must ensure that Hamas’s infrastructure and supply routes to rocket-launching cells are disrupted so that the terrorist organization is unable to launch new attacks on the Jewish state. But critics say the war is becoming a long, drawn-out war with little progress. Hamas has been able to amass an arsenal of more than 700 rockets with varying ranges, which can reach all of Israel. They are complemented by a network of tunnels and an arsenal of seagoing vessels. The group has vowed to continue its campaign until it has regained the territory it lost in 2007. It has also developed a series of advanced weapons, such as antitank missiles, that can reach nearly all of Israel.
