The number of rockets fired at Israel by Gaza-based terrorists since the beginning of Operation Pillar of Defense has matched the number of targets the IDF has struck in Gaza.
According to Kol Yisrael radio’s hourly news bulletin at 2:00 a.m. Friday morning (Israel time), terrorists fired 300 rockets at Israel from Wednesday to Thursday. The IDF Spokesperson released a statement on Thursday night which indicated that since the beginning of Operation Pillar of Defense, the IDF has struck more than 300 targets throughout Gaza.
Rockets struck the cities of Be’er Sheva and Ashkelon shortly before 2:00 a.m. There were no physical injuries or damages, reported Kol Yisrael.
The Iron Dome anti-missile system has been able to intercept the majority of the rockets that were fired at southern Israel.
Three people were killed as a result of a Grad missile attack on Kiryat Malachi Thursday morning. The three were killed during or within minutes of the attack, after efforts to save them failed. One of the victims was Mirah Scharf, who was an emissary of Chabad involved in outreach in India. Scharf was in Israel on a short visit in order to give birth and pay respects to the Chabad victims of the Mumbai terror attack in 2008.
Also on Thursday, two missiles were fired at central Israel. A siren was heard in Tel Aviv, but the IDF clarified that the missiles did not hit the ground.
Despite the tension and ongoing rocket attacks, Israelis have shown incredible solidarity towards one another. Israelis in central Israel, as well as in Judea and Samaria, have opened their homes and offered to host families from the south, so they won’t have to live within 15 seconds of a shelter and can walk outside without fear.
Israeli radio stations have notified listeners whenever “Red Alert” sirens are sounded. This is done not only to make sure people in the south hear them as they can’t be missed in the cities affected, but so that all Israeli citizens will feel solidarity with the south.
Army Radio host Razi Barkai spoke on Thursday evening with a bus driver who drives a route connecting between Be’er Sheva and Tel Aviv. The driver thanked the radio station for informing listeners of the sirens, and said that it is sometimes difficult to clearly hear the sirens on the moving bus. Having the radio inform him of a siren, he said, allows him to stop the bus and keep the passengers safe.
