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Hamas Rockets Intercepted Over Tel Aviv; Israeli Responds With Aerial Blitz

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Smoke rises after an attack of Israeli aircraft in the south of Gaza City, 08 July 2014. Israel launched “Operation Protective Edge” against Hamas rocket fire in Gaza by conducting a series of fresh airstrikes. Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said the offensive, could grow into a 'ground mission if required.' EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Smoke rises after an attack of Israeli aircraft in the south of Gaza City, 08 July 2014. Israel launched “Operation Protective Edge” against Hamas rocket fire in Gaza by conducting a series of fresh airstrikes. Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said the offensive, could grow into a ‘ground mission if required.’ EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Israel launched dozens of air raids on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, July 8th as it edged closer to a ground invasion to halt Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel. The Israeli army said its air attacks, part of an assault it called “Operation Protective Edge,” struck over 140 terror sites, including houses and rocket launch sites.

“We are preparing for a battle against Hamas which will not end within a few days,” Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said in a statement. “We will not tolerate missiles being fired at Israeli towns and we are prepared to extend the operations with all means at our disposal in order to keep hitting Hamas.”

Israel’s security cabinet also authorized the military to call up 40,000 reservists in addition to the 1,500 already mobilized. Israel is also mobilizing for a possible ground offensive. Tanks and artillery have been deployed along the Gaza border.

Palestinian officials said the air attacks killed at least 11 people. There were no reports of deaths from rockets fired out of Gaza.

Israeli President Shimon Peres said his country has no choice but to respond to the Hamas rockets fired into southern Israel.

“Hamas was offered by the quartet to stop shooting, recognize Israel, declare that you are for peace and you will be legitimized. They refused all the three,” Peres said.

“Instead, they cut tunnels, to shoot rockets, and they are shooting … hundreds [of] rockets during the night. Against whom? Against civilian people. There is no way to compromise between death and life. There is no way to compromise between peace and war,” he added.

On Tuesday evening the IDF thwarted an attempted amphibian infiltration by four Hamas terrorists who were spotted on their way to a beach on Israel’s southern shores; their final objective the Kibbutz of Zikim. The terrorists were identified while diving from Gaza’s shores and were stopped by IDF infantry who ambushed them on the Israeli coast. All of the terrorists were killed in the gunfight that ensued. One IDF soldier was lightly wounded. Judging by the amount of weapons the terrorists were carrying, analysts say their objective was to inflict severe damage on the civilian population of the kibbutz and the surrounding towns, according to a Tazpit News Agency report.

Earlier on Tuesday, an IDF spokesman announced that the army attacked a vehicle in which a Hamas terrorist named Mohammed Shaaban, 24, of Jabalya, had been traveling. Shaaban was a trainer and commander of Hamas’s naval commando force in northern Gaza. Two other people were inside the vehicle when it was struck, the IDF said. Intelligence reports indicate that he may have trained the terrorists who made the failed attempt.

All residents in the environs of the attack were ordered to stay in their homes and masses of security forces are currently blocking off the area. A security official has announced that the incident has not yet been concluded. They may be searching for further terrorists.

Also on Tuesday, a rocket was fired from Gaza at Tel Aviv and was intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system over the city of Rishon LeZion. At the same time, rockets fired from Gaza at the coastal city of Ashkelon and elsewhere were intercepted as well. Sirens were heard in all of the Dan Region: in Tel Aviv, Givatayim, Petah Tikvah, Nes Tziona, Giv’at Shmuel, Yehud, and more. The Islamic Jihad took responsibility for firing the rocket at Tel Aviv.

The interceptions were conducted shortly after Defense Minister Moshe (Bogi) Ya’alon briefed heads of local councils in the center of Israel to prepare for rockets from Gaza.

As rockets set off warning alarms increasingly closer to the center of the country, the Home Front Command instructed the city of Tel Aviv to open all public bomb shelters and all the beaches of the city of Rishon LeZion were evacuated. Furthermore, the Dov Airport in Tel Aviv is closed for takeoffs.

An IDF spokesperson stated that among the targets hit throughout Monday and Tuesday morning were 4 houses of Hamas operatives who are involved in terror operations and in firing of rockets towards Israel’s civilian population.

“The Jerusalem Municipality is preparing for every possible scenario and has decided to open the public bomb shelters across the city over the next few hours,” read a statement from Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat’s office on Tuesday..

Although most of the more than 130 rockets fired since midnight on Monday night have targeted communities in Israel’s southern Negev region, bordering the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Color Red early warning sirens have been heard as far as Beit Shemesh, Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak and even as far as Gush Etzion, according to an Arutz Sheva report.

For the first time in several years the Color Red siren was also heard in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening.

“In the case of a siren or explosion, residents should go to the closest protected area within a minute and a half and close all doors and windows and stay indoors for 10 minutes,” the statement continued.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that: “Israel is in the midst of a battle for the restitution of quiet and security to our citizens. We will not tolerate rockets being fired at our cities and communities. For this reason, I have ordered a significant expansion of the IDF’s operations against Hamas terrorists and the terrorists of any other terror organization in Gaza.”

He added that, “I have ordered so only after all other attempts for the restitution of peace have failed, and Hamas chose escalation. The IDF is aiming its attacks only against the Hamas terrorists, not against innocent civilians. Hamas, however, deliberately hides behind Palestinian citizens, and because of that Hamas is the one responsible when innocents are accidentally hurt. We are determined to restore peace and quiet and are acting firmly to achieve our goal so that our citizens and children may live safely”.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said, “Over the last few weeks, hundreds of such rockets have been fired. We have repeatedly warned Hamas that this must stop. And the Israel Defense Forces are currently acting to put an end to this once and for all.”

Ongoing firing from Gaza into southern Israel found the Israeli Air Force targeting military installations manned and run by the different terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip. These same terrorist groups have been firing on heavily populated cities and towns in southern Israel including Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Be’er Sheva and many more. This notion of firing missiles into cities is the “new terrorism”. What Hamas used a decade ago in suicide bombers has now been replaced by missiles. It is of significance to note that these beleaguered cities are not near Israeli military instillations. The targets are purely civilian.

The Israeli government decision said that the aim of the IDF operation was not to enter into a wide-ranging military action against Gaza Arab terrorists, but to ensure quiet in the south. In addition, the IDF is to ensure that rocket fire does not spread to cities other than the ones that Hamas and terror groups have been targeting, mostly in the Gaza border area. In addition, extra batteries of the Iron Dome system will be set up throughout southern Israel, officials said.

“Quiet will be answered with quiet,” the government said, adding that it demanded “a cease-fire with no preconditions.”

On Monday, the IDF said that it targeted several terror smuggling tunnels in southern Gaza. The action, the army said, prevented “a steady stream of terrorists into Israel. We recently found a significant terror tunnel leading out of Gaza, which we are gathering intelligence about to prevent further terror attacks and to prevent [the tunnel] from being used [again],” an IDF official said. “We are also investing significantly in gathering our security forces,” he added. “Until now we have had two full staffs working on the situation and we are readying ourselves for escalation [with Hamas].”

Overnight Sunday, the IAF launched airstrikes against nine terror targets in Gaza. According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the targets included concealed rocket launchers and terrorist centers in central Gaza. “The IDF is prepared to defend the citizens of Israel from any threat and will continue to act decisively and as long as necessary until quiet is restored,” the statement said, placing the responsibility for the constant rocket fire on the Hamas terrorist group.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Israel to halt the airstrikes immediately and appealed for calm.

“The Palestinian leadership is conducting intensive and urgent contacts with regional and international parties to stop the escalation,” Abbas said.

Abbas, however, has little influence over a Gaza Strip, the Associated Press reported.

Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, and despite a recent unity deal that ostensibly handed control back to Abbas, the militant group remains the dominant power there.

Smaller and more radical forces than Hamas are also involved in rocket fire from Gaza, according to AP.

Hamas, which admits an escalation in its rocket assault, said it will not be intimidated by Israeli bombs.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the Palestinian people have the right to resist and defend themselves against what he described as Israeli “aggression.” He added the “occupation will pay a heavy price for its crimes.”

Earlier Monday, a Hamas source told Walla! News that a series of conditions had been released to stop the rocket fire on Israel, which has seen over 150 rockets fired on its borders since three weeks ago – at least 110 of which in the last six days.

The conditions include releasing all 56 terrorists freed during the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal re-arrested during Operation Brother’s Keeper last month and calling for a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, President Obama is urging Israelis and Palestinians to “act with reasonableness and restraint” at what he called a dangerous moment between the two sides.

In an article published Tuesday in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Obama said the two sides must protect the innocent and not use “vengeance and retribution.”

Obama also said he still believes it is possible for Israel and the Palestinians to achieve peace, calling that the only path to security in Israel.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday that Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken with leaders from both sides in recent days, reiterating the need to reduce tensions and violence.

“Anytime there are rocket attacks into Israel, we certainly condemn those and we would do so in this case as well,” Psaki said. “And there’s no place for violence and increasing tension as we’re seeing on the ground. We don’t feel that’s productive to a peaceful society.”

What helped to further escalate tensions in the past week was the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers; Naftali Frankel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach and a 16-year-old Palestinian boy, Mohammed Abu Khder.

Both Prime Minister Netanyahu and PA President Abbas have condemned the acts and vowed to punish those responsible.

Israeli investigators said Monday that three of six Jewish suspects accused of killing the Palestinian boy have confessed to the crime and re-enacted it for authorities. It is believed the Palestinian was killed as revenge for the deaths of the Israeli teens.

Israel blames Hamas for the killing of the Israeli youths. Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility in the abduction and killings.

Israeli police on Monday said that they responded quickly to a call in the Modi’in area, where witnesses said they had observed a Jewish child being abducted by Arabs. The call turned out to be a false alarm, and the child was found unharmed.

The call was one of several received by police in the Modi’in area over the past several days, as tensions over a repeat of the kidnapping and murder of the Israeli teens – and fears of Arab revenge for the murder of Mohammed Abu Khder – come to a head.

Upon receiving the report Monday, police dispatched crews who began an immediate search, aided by a police helicopter. A top official said that police weren’t taking any chances.

Over the past several days, dozens of kidnapping reports have been filed with police throughout the country, and officials said they immediately followed up on each one. Thankfully, none of them have been genuine.

“As soon as we get information from the field we are checking it out. We have been getting a lot of calls from the Modi’in area, and we have officers ready to respond to any emergency.”

Police weathered sharp criticism over their failure to respond in a timely manner to the kidnapping of the Israeli teens.

Meanwhile, multiple Palestinian terror groups renewed calls for violence against Israel and urged Arabs to rise up over the weekend, causing concern that a third Palestinian intifada could break out amid escalating violence between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Arab-Israelis in East Jerusalem rioted and clashed with Israeli police following the death of Khdeir, who was allegedly killed by Israelis in an apparent revenge attack for the abduction and killing of three Jewish teens by Hamas.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a radical terror group, dropped leaflets in Khdeir’s hometown of Shuafat, outside Jerusalem, over the weekend in a bid to stoke tensions and incite Arab-Israelis to launch a popular uprising against Israel, otherwise known as an intifada.

PFLP leaders called on Twitter and elsewhere for the “development of popular mobilization into a popular intifada.”

The PFLP was among several Palestinian militant groups urging Arabs to take up arms against Israel.

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