MOURNERS at the funeral of a five-year-old killed by rocket fire in Israel were forced to take cover today as Hamas launched rockets toward the cemetery.
Suddenly, as family and friends grieved the death of Ido Avigal, sirens wailed, and everyone darted to the ground to take cover.
? Read our Israel-Gaza live blog for the very latest updates…
Security analysts say that the city of Kiryat Gat is not a significant target, and rockets were launched intentionally to disrupt the funeral.
“People here are outraged and sickened by this,” Michael Dickson, a British-born Israeli author and anti-terror activist told The Sun Online.
“It's bad enough that these parents are dealing with their five-year old having been blown apart, but Hamas doubled-down on their pain by firing during the child's funeral,” added Dickson, executive director of the pro-Istrael group Stand With Us.
Avigal was killed in his home in the city of Sderot after shrapnel from a rocket, launched from the nearby Gaza strip, pierced the two-layer steel-and-glass window of their reinforced bomb shelter.
His mother Shani couldn’t attend the funeral because she is in hospital, injured.
The death shocked Israelis, because of his age and also because safe rooms were assumed to protect against shrapnel.
Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin visited the boy’s father, Assaf, yesterday and told him: “I am here today on my own, as it were, but believe me that the support of the whole people is with you and the thoughts of us all are with you and the pain of your wonderful family.
“The loss of Ido is inconceivable, dealing with it along with the unconscionable worry for the rest of the family is so difficult. If only we could make it easier for you.”
Israeli media reported that the father sobbed at the funeral, and said that he had “lied” when he reassured his son.
"Sorry I arrived a few minutes too late to stop your bleeding,” he said. “A few days ago you asked me 'Dad what will happen if there is a colour red rocket alert and we are out?.'
The loss of Ido is inconceivable, dealing with it along with the unconscionable worry for the rest of the family is so difficult
"I told you: 'Ido, as long as you are with me, you’ll be protected. But I lied?
“What is there to say about a child like you? You were so smart. Ido, you taught me five years of insights about life that I did not learn before and will not learn now.”
He said that spending lockdown with Ido had been a privilege.
“During the coronavirus crisis I was privileged to be with you every day, for every breath you took, and to see you grow," Assaf added.
"Every day I was amazed anew.”
ROCKET LAUNCHES
It comes as Palestinians were forced to grab their children and belongings and flee neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Gaza City today as Israel unleashed a heavy barrage of artillery fire and airstrikes, killing a family of six in their home.
Israel said it was clearing a network of militant tunnels ahead of a possible ground invasion.
The country has massed troops along the border and called up 9,000 reservists as fighting intensifies with Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has fired some 1,800 rockets, and the Israeli military has launched more than 600 airstrikes, toppling at least three high-rise apartment buildings, and has shelled some areas with tanks stationed near the frontier.
As Israel and Hamas plunged closer to all-out war despite international efforts at a cease-fire, communal violence in Israel erupted for a fourth night.
Jewish and Arab mobs clashed in the flashpoint town of Lod, even after Israel dispatched additional security forces.
The Gaza Health Ministry says the toll from the fighting has risen to 119 killed, including 31 children and 19 women, with 830 wounded.
Horrific images showed wounded and children being carried following an Israeli airstrike to Al-Shifa hospital.
The Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups have confirmed 20 deaths in their ranks, though Israel says that number is much higher, reports Associated Press.
Fighting broke out late Monday when Hamas fired a long-range rocket at Jerusalem in support of Palestinian protests there against the policing of a flashpoint holy site and efforts by Jewish settlers to evict dozens of Palestinian families from their homes.
Most read in News
BITTER CHILL 
Snow to BATTER Britain 'within weeks' says Met Office as temps to DROP further
New evidence about chief Maddie suspect leaves investigators 'shocked'
PM held indoor birthday bash at height of lockdown in fresh partygate
Tributes to 'absolutely amazing' lad, four, killed in off-road bike crash
Since then, Israel has attacked hundreds of targets in Gaza, causing earth-shaking explosions in densely populated areas.
Of the 1,800 rockets Gaza militants have fired, more than 400 fell short or misfired, according to the military.
The most intense fighting in seven years between Israel and Gaza's armed groups was triggered by unrest at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem last weekend.
Source: Read Full Article
