Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians continue to increase as salvos of rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza since Wednesday afternoon, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) striking dozens of rocket launchers and positions of the Islamic Jihad across the Strip.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 20 people were killed in the Gaza Strip in the latest IDF attacks and at least 37 people were injured. Israeli authorities reported that 11 people were injured so far from the rockets either when running to a shelter or from trauma.
What do we know: Alert sirens warning of rocket fire have been sounding in Israeli communities near the Gaza border as well as in several cities in the center of the country, including Tel Aviv, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ramat Gan and Giv’atayim, since 1:30 p.m. Israel time. The municipalities of Tel Aviv, Rishon Letzion and other cities have asked parents to come and get their children from kindergartens and daycare centers and take them home.
By late Wednesday afternoon, the IDF estimated the number of rockets launched toward Gaza on Wednesday afternoon to be 270, with 150 of them exploding in the Strip’s skies or falling into the sea, failing to cross the border into Israel’s airspace. In parallel, an IDF spokesperson said that air force jets and helicopters had struck some 40 rocket launchers and Islamic Jihad positions across the Strip.
