Israel News for 11-13-18
Rocket Attack
Over 400 rockets have been fired into Israel since Monday evening, when at least 300 rockets and mortars were fired from Gaza. 100 rockets were launched in the span of an hour. Rocket strikes were reported in Ashkelon and Sderot and in Netivot, where the local religious council building was hit. Early today a rocket hit a 4 story residential building in Ashkelon, killing a Palestinian man from Hebron and injuring 2 women.
According to the Magen David Adom (Israeli Red Cross), at least 19 Israelis were injured by rocket fire in Ashkelon and over 30 were treated for shock. Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva treated 47 people, three injured and the rest suffering from shock.
Two other homes in Israeli border communities suffered direct hits, but no one was hurt. Residents of the south have been ordered to stay near shelters. School was cancelled in all Gaza border communities, as well as in Be’er Sheva, Omer, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Malachi and Gedera.
Iron Dome missiles have intercepted over 100 rockets.
Also, a 19 year-old IDF soldier is in critical condition after an anti-tank missile was fired at an empty bus he was standing beside, near the Gaza border. The bus, from which IDF troops had just disembarked, was completely destroyed.
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IDF Response
Israeli aircraft have attacked around 150 targets in Gaza since the rocket attacks began on Monday evening. One of the targets destroyed was the Gaza City headquarters of Hamas’ Al Aqsa TV station. Israel had fired warning shots ahead of the airstrike, prompting the station to halt programming and replace it with a logo. Minutes later, the airstrike flattened the three-story building and the station went black.
Planes also hit Hamas’s interior security headquarters, which was disguised as the Al-Amal Hotel, and Hamas’ military intelligence force for research and development, which was located in a high-rise structure near a school. There were no casualties in any of the attacks on high-rise buildings, since Israel gave Hamas time to evacuate them before attacking.
The IDF also hit other military and terror targets in Gaza, resulting in the death of 6 Palestinians.
Israel has denied claims by Hamas that they are engaged in cease fire talks.
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