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Terror groups in the Gaza Strip threatened to turn Ashkelon “into hell” on Tuesday as they launched a massive volley of rockets at the southern Israeli city, wounding seven people – as the cross-border attacks have left 24 Palestinians dead, including nine children, according to reports.
The barrage came after a night of nearly incessant rocket fire on Israeli communities and as the Israel Defense Forces conducted strikes on more than 100 targets in the coastal enclave, the Times of Israel reported, citing military sources.
The so-called “Operation Guardian of the Walls” by the IDF continued a day after the major outbreak of violence erupted from Gaza, including rare rocket fire on Jerusalem amid riots in the Old City, the news outlet reported.
At least 23 Palestinians were killed Monday night and early Tuesday in the Strip, including nine minors, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Another 107 Palestinians were injured, it added.
Israeli military officials said at least 15 of those killed were members of the Hamas terror group who were launching rockets or anti-tank guided missiles at the Jewish state, the Times of Israel reported.
Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman, the IDF’s spokesman, told reporters that several of those killed in Gaza — including at least three children — were hit by errant rockets launched by the terrorists, not by Israeli airstrikes.
Zilberman said the IDF was taking steps to avoid civilian casualties, but that they could occur anyway as Hamas deliberately operates within a densely populated area, using residents as human shields.
He added that the fighting was expected to last at least several more days and that Hamas could expect a particularly punishing next few hours.
“We have an intense day ahead of us,” Zilberman said Tuesday morning, adding, “We have a goal and we will not stop until we’ve reached it.”
Asked about the possibility for a ground invasion or targeted killing of top terrorist leaders, he said the IDF “was prepared for anything,” the Israeli paper reported.
The IDF said more than 200 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel from 6 p.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday, dozens of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, which reportedly had a successful interception rate of over 90 percent.
Zilberman said that about a third of the projectiles fired from Gaza landed inside the Strip.
In the attack on Ashkelon, seven Israelis were wounded, including four from the same family — parents in their 40s, an 8-year-old and an 11-year old, the Times of Israel said.
The father suffered a serious head wound, and the rest sustained light injuries from shrapnel, the paper reported.
A 63-year-old man also was moderately injured by shrapnel, and a man and a woman in their 80s suffered lights injuries, officials said.
On Tuesday, the IDF also unleashed new airstrikes on Gaza, hitting the home of a Hamas commander and two border tunnels dug by militants.
The action was preceded by hours of clashes Monday between Palestinians and Israeli security forces, including confrontations at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a sacred site to Jews and Muslims alike.
In fighting in the contested city and across the West Bank, more than 700 Palestinians were hurt, including nearly 500 treated at hospitals.
The violence — like previous rounds, including the last intifada, or uprising — was fueled by conflicting claims over Jerusalem.
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been acting in a caretaker capacity since an inconclusive parliamentary election in March, warned Monday that fighting could “continue for some time.”
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an IDF spokesman, did not address Gaza Health Ministry reports that nine minors were among 24 Palestinians killed overnight.
On Tuesday, Defense Minister Benny Gantz approved the call-up of 5,000 reservists and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi ordered the reinforcement of the Gaza Division with infantry and armored brigades, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“The IDF will continue to act resolutely to restore security to the residents of the south, and all commands must prepare for the expansion of the campaign, with no time limit,” the IDF said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the London-based Amnesty International said Israel is using “abusive and wanton force against largely peaceful Palestinian protesters” in East Jerusalem, Agence France-Presse reported.
Israel on Tuesday strongly defended the conduct of its officers, insisting they have responded to violent Palestinian rioters with appropriate measures.
But the human rights group described some of those measures as “disproportionate and unlawful,” accusing security forces of “unprovoked attacks on peaceful demonstrators.”
The Israeli police did not respond to specific allegations, but told AFP in an email: “We will not allow disturbance of order while harming the fabric of life, inciting to harm police forces and violence against police officers and civilians.”
On Monday, Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai told Israeli N12 TV that in Jerusalem in recent days “we showed too much restraint,” adding that “we are at the stage of taking off the gloves.”
Also on Tuesday, the United Nations rights office said it was “deeply concerned” over the escalation of violence in the occupied Palestinian territories, east Jerusalem and Israel.
“We condemn all violence and all incitement to violence and ethnic division and provocations,” spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva.
“No force should be used against those exercising their rights peacefully,” said the spokesman from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
With Post wires
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