Hamas Unleashes Barrage of Rockets on Israeli Civilians
by Joshua Spurlock
Map of Israeli cities where rocket alert sirens sounded last night.
Thursday, 09 August 2018 | The day started ominously, with Hamas terrorists abandoning outposts to apparently escape potential IDF [Israel Defense Forces] fire. Then the rain of rockets followed. More than 70 rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip in a six-hour stretch starting on Wednesday, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Twitter feed, with rocket sirens warning of potentially more attacks. The tweet featured a graphic showing 19 different Israeli towns in which rocket sirens had sounded in the onslaught—and the rockets were hitting civilian targets.
Magen David Adom paramedics tweeted about multiple injuries occurring in the town of Sderot at multiple sites, while the IDF Spokesperson posted a video showing a playground damaged by rocket fire as one example of the day’s hits.
“Tonight, Hamas fired rockets at this playground in Sderot, Israel, which is home to 25,000 people. They’re innocent mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. The Hamas terrorist organization looks at Sderot from the Gaza Strip and sees 25,000 targets,” tweeted the video caption. The IDF did not take the barrage lightly, responding in force against Hamas.
In response to the day’s rocket fire, the IDF website noted that a dozen “terror targets” were hit in Gaza, including an abandoned Marriot hotel construction site that had been repurposed as a factory for terror tunnel parts. The areas around the factory were also used for military training. The IDF also struck a sea terror tunnel shaft among other sites.
“Hamas is responsible for the events transpiring in the Gaza Strip and emanating from it and will bear the consequences for its actions against Israeli civilians and sovereignty,” said the report on the IDF website. “The IDF condemns terror activity and is prepared for a wide variety of scenarios while continuing to fulfill its mission to defend Israeli civilians.”
The violence began on Wednesday when Hamas fired at civilian engineers, hitting a vehicle, who were involved in constructing the barrier along the security fence, according to a series of tweets from the IDF Spokesperson. A follow-up post said that Israel responded with tank fire.
The attacks followed an incident on Tuesday in which the IDF Spokesperson reported on Twitter that Gaza terrorists shot at Israeli troops and an IDF tank fired back at the Hamas post.
That set the stage for Wednesday, and the IDF had indications something might be brewing. The IDF reinforced the Gaza Division and took additional security precautions “in light of Hamas statements and the evacuation of Hamas outposts,” said another series of Twitter posts from the IDF Spokesperson.
Continued the thread, “The IDF operates in order to ensure the security of civilians in the area, will not tolerate any aggression against Israeli civilians or soldiers and is prepared for a wide variety of scenarios.”
That refusal to accept attacks on civilians was echoed on Twitter in the midst of the later rocket fire by Israeli Prime Minister’s Office Spokesperson Ofir Gendelman. He retweeted a video from Israel’s Foreign Ministry showing a crowd hiding after a rocket hit a building in the city of Sderot.
Said Gendelman’s tweet, “Hamas has shelled this evening an Israeli city. As a result, the IDF is striking now Hamas terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip. No country would allow the shelling of its citizens by a savage terrorist organization.”
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