Rockets and shells crisscrossed the skies over southern Israel and Gaza on Thursday as Palestinians continued rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and Israel pounded what it called terror sites. Three Israelis died in the northern town of Kiryat Malachi on Thursday after a rocket fired from Gaza hit an apartment building.
While hundreds of rockets have landed in southern Israel in recent days, any missile landing in Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial capital and most populous city, would mark a significant escalation of the conflict. At least 245 rockets from Gaza have been fired into Israel since “Operation Pillar of Defense” began Wednesday, the Israeli military said.
Israel’s Iron Dome defense system has intercepted more than 80, the Israel Defense Forces said. At least 15 Palestinians, including two children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Wednesday which began with an aerial attack that killed Ahmad Jabari, Hamas military commander who was accused by Israel for overseeing attacks against civilians.
This is the first time Tel Aviv has been threatened by missiles since the 1991 Gulf War, when missiles fired by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq landed in the city. “It is important to understand one simple point: there is no moral symmetry between the terrorists in Gaza and Israel,” Binyamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, said on Thursday.
Sources with Hamas, which controls the government in Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad gave similar figures, saying that more than 140 strikes have hit Gaza and that scores of rockets and shells have been fired into Israel.
While hundreds of rockets have landed in southern Israel in recent days, any missile landing in Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial capital and most populous city, would mark a significant escalation of the conflict.
The sudden conflict pours oil on the fire of a Middle East already tense with two years of revolution and an out-of-control civil war in Syria. Palestinian allies, led by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, denounced the Israeli offensive.
While hundreds of rockets have landed in southern Israel in recent days, any missile landing in Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial capital and most populous city, would mark a significant escalation of the conflict. At least 245 rockets from Gaza have been fired into Israel since “Operation Pillar of Defense” began Wednesday, the Israeli military said.
Israel’s Iron Dome defense system has intercepted more than 80, the Israel Defense Forces said. At least 15 Palestinians, including two children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Wednesday which began with an aerial attack that killed Ahmad Jabari, Hamas military commander who was accused by Israel for overseeing attacks against civilians.
This is the first time Tel Aviv has been threatened by missiles since the 1991 Gulf War, when missiles fired by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq landed in the city. “It is important to understand one simple point: there is no moral symmetry between the terrorists in Gaza and Israel,” Binyamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, said on Thursday.
Sources with Hamas, which controls the government in Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad gave similar figures, saying that more than 140 strikes have hit Gaza and that scores of rockets and shells have been fired into Israel.
While hundreds of rockets have landed in southern Israel in recent days, any missile landing in Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial capital and most populous city, would mark a significant escalation of the conflict.
The sudden conflict pours oil on the fire of a Middle East already tense with two years of revolution and an out-of-control civil war in Syria. Palestinian allies, led by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, denounced the Israeli offensive.
