Israeli forces fired at the Beit Lahiyah area Monday morning in the wake of a missile attack on the northern outskirts of the coastal city of Ashkelon.
The launch by Hamas terrorists was – again – another in a series of violations of a humanitarian cease fire being observed by the Israel Defense Forces following a request by the United Nations.
The missile exploded in an open area in the city, according to IDF officials. No one was physically injured, and no property damage was reported.
But the issue of never knowing where the next missile will come from, or when, regardless of whether a so-called ‘cease fire’ has been agreed upon is one that must be addressed.
The IDF attacked 40 terror targets on Sunday, and two terrorist tunnels in the past 24 hours.
The issue of the tunnels is especially important, as that is a threat that cannot be addressed by the air force. Yet terrorists can launch missile attacks as well as other serious, mass casualty attacks against Israel from such tunnels, thereby making the destruction of that threat a primary mission for the IDF.
Nevertheless, President Barack Obama on Sunday strongly urged Israel to cooperate with an immediate humanitarian cease fire agreement cobbled together in Paris by Qatar and Turkey — both of whom clearly were there for Hamas — and Kerry, who may have had Israel’s interests in mind but whose interests were questionable at best, given the fact that in every phrase, the concerns of Palestinian Arabs are noted before those of Israelis.
The United Nations Security Council agreed on a draft statement calling for a cease fire between the terrorists in Gaza and Israel. The Council was to meet again in an emergency session at midnight, Sunday evening, July 27, east coast U.S. time — 7 am, Israel time.