On Tuesday evening in Israel, nearly half a million people in Tel Aviv, Israel’s second-largest city after Jerusalem, held their breaths as rockets targeted them in an attack launched by the terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas launched a barrage of 130 rockets, according to the New York Post, which noted that mosques across the Strip chanted “God is great,” and “victory to Islam.”
RAW FOOTAGE: This is the moment the Iron Dome intercepted a barrage of rockets over Tel Aviv and central Israel. pic.twitter.com/8jl8OTgWCl
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 11, 2021
A civilian bus was struck in the attack from Gaza:
One of the 100s of rockets that were just fired from Gaza toward Tel Aviv and central Israel exploded on a civilian bus.
Hamas’ intentions are clear: kill Israeli civilians.
We won’t stand by and let this happen. pic.twitter.com/aNsA3dlgMe
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 11, 2021
🚨 SIRENS IN TEL AVIV: 🚨
Imagine hearing this sound and having seconds to run for your life.
This is what people in Tel Aviv are hearing RIGHT NOW. pic.twitter.com/9BpYbwlwVO
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 11, 2021
This is Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, a civilian airport. Hamas, funded and provided weapons by Iran, is launching rockets in hopes of killing innocent people or downing a plane. pic.twitter.com/PgacsYVzkG
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) May 11, 2021
One Israeli woman reportedly died after a rocket strike in Rishon Lezion, south of Tel Aviv. Haaretz reported, “Three Israelis were killed as hundreds of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip.”
“An unnamed cabinet source tells Ynet that Gaza terror groups ‘haven’t seen an iota of our capabilities.’ The same source adds that ‘it will take time to achieve deterrence with Hamas. We didn’t think it would be immediate,’” The Times of Israel reported.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas condemned the rocket attacks from Hamas, tweeting, “The rocket attack on Israel is absolutely unacceptable and must end immediately. Israel has in this situation the right to self-defense. This escalation of violence can be neither tolerated nor accepted.”
Prior to the launch of rockets toward Tel Aviv on Tuesday night, Israel’s Iron Dome intercepted rockets that were fired from Gaza at the city of Ashkelon starting on Monday night.
“Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip fired a massive barrage of rockets at the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon at dawn on Tuesday,” The Times Of Israel reported. “According to the Israel Defense Forces, over 200 rockets and mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel from 6 p.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday, dozens of which were intercepted by Iron Dome missile defense batteries. The military said the Iron Dome had a successful interception rate of over 90 percent of projectiles heading toward populated areas.”
Israel responded by striking back with an attack on Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces released a statement on the attacks:
Overnight, in response to continuous rocket fire from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory, the IDF struck over 130 terror targets belonging to terror organizations in the Gaza Strip. In the first and second stages of the strikes, IDF fighter jets, attack helicopters and aircraft struck weapons manufacturing sites belonging to the Hamas terror organization. In the third stage, targets belonging to the Hamas terror organization and the Islamic Jihad were struck, including: weapons manufacturing sites and military facilities belonging to the Hamas terror organization and the Islamic Jihad. A Hamas battalion commander was also targeted.
In addition, as part of the strikes over the past day, the IDF struck a military intelligence building belonging to the Hamas terror organization, along with approximately 15 operatives of the organization. Likewise, IDF tanks and aircraft struck additional terror targets, among them: two offensive terror tunnels adjacent to the security fence. The Hamas terror organization deliberately places military targets in the heart of densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip. The IDF takes precautions to avoid harming civilians as much as possible during its operational activities.
During Israel’s counterattack, they killed a top Hamas commander. “We just killed the commander of the Hamas anti-tank missile unit, Iyad Fathi Faik Sharir. He was in charge of carrying out anti-tank missile attacks on Israel. Our aircraft are currently striking additional terror targets in Gaza,” the Israel Defense Force tweeted Tuesday.