***CONSTANTLY UPDATED***
Three Israelis were killed last night from rockets fired from Gaza:
NBC NEWS – Rockets fired from Gaza into southern Israel killed three people and injured six on Thursday, Israeli officials said, as Israel launched numerous airstrikes across the Gaza Strip and the military showdown lurched closer to all-out war.
Fifteen Palestinians have been killed and 100 injured in Gaza since Wednesday, Reuters reported. The funeral was held Thursday for Ahmed Jabari, the senior Hamas military commander, who was one of those killed in the Israeli Defense Force airstrikes.
The IDF said on its website that the three people killed Thursday in the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Malachi were civilians.
It added that 43 of the rockets from Gaza had been intercepted by its defense systems, and that it had targeted 156 “terror sites” in Gaza since the start of what it called “Operation Pillar of Defense.”
“In the past 24 hours, 245 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel,” it said.
Here is video of the site where the rocket hit that killed 3 people:
@IDFSpokesperson also says that three IDF soldiers have been injured from a rocket attack as well:
Breaking: 3 IDF soldiers injured by a rocket fired from #Gaza into #Israel. They were taken to a hospital for treatment. #IsraelUnderFire
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) November 15, 2012
They also tweeted out this photo of a baby wounded by a rocket attack:
This is the baby wounded today from a rocket attack in #Israel .(photo by Gideon Rahamin) #IsraelUnderFire pic.twitter.com/fqP8sEkW
— Avital Leibovich (@AvitalLeibovich) November 15, 2012
I’m sure there will be more. Check back on this thread as we update it throughout the day.
UPDATE: @IDFSpokesperson says IDF dropped leaflets over Gaza warning residents to stay away from Hamas officials for their own safety:
UPDATE 2: Looks like rockets fired from the Gaza strip have a longer range than previously thought. The city of Rishon Lezion is outside the range of rocket attacks:
Breaking: A rocket fired from Gaza struck an open area near Rishon LeZion, a city with more than 200,000 people. #IsraelUnderFire
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) November 15, 2012
As a reminder, here is the infographic showing the range of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. Notice where Rishon Lezion is in relation to the target areas:
UPDATE 3: @IDFSpokesperson says Israel has destroyed 70 underground launching sites in Gaza today:
During the past hour, the IDF targeted approx. 70 underground medium range rocket launching sites in #Gaza. Direct hits were confirmed.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) November 15, 2012
NOTE: It’s been a slower day than anticipated so I’m going to discontinue updating this thread.