UPDATED REPORT: Following a barrage of rockets launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip over the last 24 hours, the Israel Air Force hit additional terror-related sites in Gaza on Friday afternoon. This comes after Israel struck seven sites in Gaza the night before in response to Thursday’s vicious multipronged terror attack that killed eight. According to the IDF, the latest strikes on Friday targeted two weapons manufacturing sites, as well as two terror activity sites. Hits were confirmed.
The IDF statement said the latest strikes were in response to the various terror attacks against Israel since Thursday. The violence began with shooting attacks against Israeli civilian vehicles and eventually included the rocket fire. According to a report on the IDF website, since Thursday night, more than 20 rockets have been fired at Israel.
Of those rockets, at least two were fired at the major Israeli southern coastal city of Ashdod, causing injuries and damage at a synagogue and a school. According to the IDF website, at least seven people were injured in the Ashdod rocket attacks, including one critically.
IDF spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich said on Twitter about the attacks on Ashdod, “Another Grad rocket hits the city of #Ashdod, home to 230,000 #Israelis. Clearly, terrorists from #Gaza wish to target densely populated area.”
The IDF Spokesperson’s Twitter feed also reported on Friday afternoon that two additional rockets landed in southern Israel, but no damage or injuries were reported.
The IDF in a statement held Hamas, as the governing authority in Gaza, as ultimately responsible for terror coming from there. “The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli civilians and soldiers, and will respond with determination to any attempt to use terror against the State of Israel. The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideasupdate.com, August 19, 2011)