Rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel continued Thursday.
At around 8:30 in the morning, the early warning alarm sounded in Sderot followed by a salvo of three rockets. One of the rockets penetrated the wall of the second story of a building. On the first floor of the same building, a day care teacher and five infants in her care scrambled to the nearest protected area, narrowly evading tragedy.
More than 30 rockets have been fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours.
#Breaking: Another rocket just hit an open area near the city of Ofakim, making 16 that hit #Israel since midnight
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 3, 2014
Throughout Wednesday and into Thursday, Israeli jets carried out 15 precision strikes in the Gaza Strip. At least 10 Palestinians were injured, according to reports. …
On Wednesday night, three rockets fired from Gaza exploded near residential buildings in the southern city of Sderot, causing damage to the buildings and to several vehicles as well as cutting off power to several streets in the city, officials said.
Israeli officials blame continue to blame Hamas and not other terror groups for the recent barrage of rockets.
#BREAKING: 4 rockets were launched by Gaza terrorists moments ago. One rocket hit the city of Sderot and 2 hit open areas nearby
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 3, 2014
Rocket fire and Israeli reprisals have continued throughout the week, bringing calls from some within Israel to carry out a large-scale operation in Gaza. Hamas warned Israel against launching such an offensive on Thursday, saying that Israel’s previous conflicts with the group would be “a picnic” compared to what would follow should the IDF begin a large operation in Gaza.
“I promise you that one stupid move by your leaders will be enough to make us turn all of your communities, even those you might not expect, into targets and burning coals,” a spokesman for Hamas’s Kassam Brigades said at a press conference in Gaza.
One soldier was injured by shrapnel from a mortar shell.
#Pictures: the damage caused to the home hit by #Gaza rocket this morning pic.twitter.com/RpEn92frRl
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 3, 2014
The IDF produced a video to give viewers a sense of what residents of Sderot feel when they hear a siren indicating that a rocket is headed in their direction.
[Photo: tipinfo / Flickr ]