JERUSALEM, Israel – Terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired multiple barrages of rockets and mortar shells at Israeli civilians Monday evening, overnight, and well into Tuesday morning, sparking concerns that a larger conflict could be on the horizon.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said more than 200 rockets were fired at Israel, including a rare rocket attack on Jerusalem Monday evening.
The attack on Jerusalem set off air raid sirens throughout the holy city for the first time since Israel’s war with Gaza in 2014.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Hamas terror group of crossing a “red line” with its attack on Jerusalem.
“We will not tolerate attacks on our territory, on our capital, on our citizens and on our soldiers. Whoever attacks us will pay a heavy price,” he said.
The Israeli Airforce carried out retaliatory strikes across the Gaza Strip, targeting what it said were Hamas positions in the coastal enclave.
The IDF said it had attacked a Hamas tunnel, rocket launchers, and at least eight militants. The fighting killed 24 people, including nine children, in Gaza.
At least 13 of the 20 deaths in Gaza were attributed to the airstrikes. However, it is unclear if an explosion in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, which killed three children, was caused by an Israeli airstrike or an errant rocket.
The rocket attacks from Gaza and retaliatory Israeli airstrikes continued Tuesday morning.
At least one building in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon suffered a direct hit. Six people were injured in the strike.
In the last few mimutes, several rocket barrage on the city of Ashkelon.
Hunders of Rocket launced from Gaza towards Israel since yesterday pic.twitter.com/Zfy0eINshG
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) May 11, 2021
Hamas said the assault on Ashkelon was in response to an Israeli strike on a civilian apartment bloc near Gaza city. The terror group threatened to “turn Ashkelon into hell” if the IDF continues to target civilians.
The aftermath of Israeli strikes on Gaza’s al-Shati area, located north of Gaza city. https://t.co/Uwe25TdWWG
— Will Porter (@TheWillPorter) May 11, 2021
Meanwhile, violent unrest continued for another night in Israel. An Arab Israeli man was shot and killed and two others wounded during a demonstration early Tuesday in the central city of Lod.
Reports say the victims were part of a mob hurling fire-bombs and stones at Jewish homes. Lod is a mixed Arab-Jewish city.
Police have arrested a suspect in connection to the shooting. Ha’aretz quoted witnesses who said the men were shot by a Jewish resident of the city.
“The Arab mob tried to storm our neighborhood,” Lod resident Meir Liush told Ha’aretz. “It took police a long time to arrive. Residents were forced to shoot in the air, but it did not deter them until they shot at them and wounded two of them.”
The violent protest was one of several large demonstrations in Arab communities against what they deem to be Israeli aggression against the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount compound.
Clashes between Israeli Police and Palestinians rioting at the holy site wounded hundreds on Monday.
Netanyahu warned that Israel’s conflict with Gaza “could continue for some time.”
The Biden administration on Monday strongly condemned the rocket attacks by Hamas, saying “they need to stop immediately.”
“All sides need to de-escalate, reduce tensions, take practical steps to calm things down,” Secretary of State Antony Bliken said.
The IDF spokesman told Army Radio on Tuesday that the military has not ruled out a ground operation.
“We have a foot on the gas [pedal],” IDF spokesman Hidai Zilberman said.
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