Actual headline from yesterday: “Israel-Gaza truce mostly observed.”
Not sure what that’s supposed to mean exactly, but in any case we learn today that at least two rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip into the Israeli city of Beersheba since the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire was supposed to take effect yesterday. Fortunately, one landed in an empty field and the other one was intercepted by Israel’s amazing Iron Dome missile defense system (see video below for footage of the Iron Dome in action earlier this week).
The Egyptian-brokered ceasefire which went into effect on Tuesday appeared to collapse Wednesday night when two Grad-model Katyusha rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip into Beersheba.
The IDF was expected to retaliate to the renewed rocket fire.
One of the rockets landed outside the city and the second one was intercepted by the Iron Dome counter-rocket defense system. No one was injured.
Before the rocket fire, OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Tal Russo warned Wednesday that Israel might be required to launch a large-scale operation in Gaza in the near future to stop the attacks.
“The IDF is doing everything to enable residents of communities near Gaza to maintain a normal life,” Russo said. “I do not know how long it [the ceasefire] will last and we might need to launch a large-scale operation in the future.”
And this is from the IDF’s YouTube channel:
Since Friday, March 9th 2012, more than 150 missiles which were fired from Gaza hit Israel. 56 of these were intercepted while airborne by the Iron Dome system, thus preventing damage to heavily populated areas.
One million civilians, including over 200,000 children, are forced to stay in shelters, deprived of their basic right to freedom of movement. At any given moment, the citizens of southern Israel must remain a distance of 15 seconds away from the nearest bomb shelter.