JERUSALEM (TNA)–An Egyptian-brokered cease fire was accepted by Israel and rejected by Hamas, which continued firing rockets at Israeli civilian targets on Tuesday, July 15. After waiting several hours fruitlessly for the cease fire to take hold, with warning sirens going off 58 times, the Israel Air Force resumed attacking terror targets in Gaza.
All this was witnessed personally by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier who was visiting Israel. Israel’s Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu told Steinmeier during the period of several hours that Israel waited for Gaza to stop shooting: “Israel has accepted the Egyptian ceasefire proposal, a goal that was and remains putting an end to rocket fire from Gaza on our cities, providing the citizens of Israel with the peace and quiet to which they are entitled. I know that you know that no country would sit idly by while its civilian population is subjected to terrorist rocket fire. Israel is no exception. If Hamas rejects the Egyptian proposal, and the rocket fire from Gaza does not cease, and that appears to be the case now, we are prepared to continue and intensify our operation to protect our people. For this we have kept full support from the responsible members of the international community.”
“I want to thank the many world leaders including yourself who unequivocally condemn Hamas for the rocket fire on Israeli cities and for the clear-cut support for Israel’s right to self-defense. So, in that spirit of friendship, welcome to Israel, welcome to Tel Aviv.”
Monday evening, July 14, and early Tuesday, Israel was hit on three different fronts.
Hamas and the Islamic Jihad continued to fire rockets at Israeli civilian population centers. More than 115 rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel in 24 hours. At least 92 rockets struck Israel. 15 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. The IDF responded by hitting 163 targets in the Gaza Strip.
A rocket fired from Gaza late at night hit Lakiya, which is located near Beer Sheva, and wounded two Bedouin girls aged 11 and 13, one severely and one moderately. Yesterday afternoon an IDF soldier was moderately wounded by a mortar shell fired at the Eshkol Region in the Negev. He was treated on the spot and then was evacuated to a hospital for further treatment. Earlier on, an 8 year-old boy was lightly wounded by a rocket that exploded in his backyard in Ashdod.
Eilat was attacked for the first time from Gaza. At about 2 AM two rockets hit Eilat, striking near a hotel at the height of the tourism season. An additional rocket hit an open area. Five people were lightly injured from shrapnel. Two additional people were treated for shock. Damage was reported.
On the Lebanese front, for the fourth time since Friday, a rocket fired from Lebanon struck near the northern Israeli city of Nahariya. The IDF responded with artillery fire.
On the Syrian front, a rocket fired from Syria fell in an open area in El Rom in the Golan Heights early yesterday evening.No one was physically injured, but a fire broke out in the field.
In total, over 1081 rocket have been launched at Israel during Operation ‘Protective Edge’. 845 of those rockets hit Israel. Approximately 191 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. The IDF has targeted over 1,576 terror targets, with both naval and aerial capabilities.
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Preceding compiled from running Tazpit News Agency reports by Aryeh Savir