Multiple barrages of rocket fire were aimed at cities in central and southern Israel on Tuesday afternoon, sending Israelis racing for cover after a tense silence from Gaza had spanned most of Monday night into Tuesday at midday.
Barrages were aimed at the now-empty Jewish towns along the Gaza border, but also aimed further north, towards Ashkelon, Ashdod, Be’er Sheva, Rehovot, Rishon Lezion, Tel Aviv-Yafo and surrounds, Rosh Ha’Ayin, Elad and Raanana.
At least two of the rockets landed in the Tel Aviv suburb of Holon; one person was moderately wounded and two others sustained minor injuries. Another rocket landed in the town of Be’er Yaakov, where one person sustained minor wounds. A rocket also landed in Rishon Lezion, where damage was reported but no one was physically injured.
One home in the town of Alfei Menashe, in Samaria and not far from Tel Aviv, sustained a direct hit by one of the rockets, and was destroyed. Miraculously, no one was physically injured in the attack because they were in a safe room.
“When we arrived on scene we saw a great deal of destruction in the house and yard,” said senior Magen David Adom medic Raz Levy.
“The three residents, a 70 year old female and 2 males in their 20s followed the instructions of the Home Front Command. As the siren sounded, they entered a secure area and waited 10 minutes. They were not injured and did not require treatment. If they wouldn’t have taken shelter in the safe room, this event could have ended in tragedy.”
With the most recent barrage, Hamas and its allies in Gaza have launched some 8,000 rockets at Israeli civilians across the country, including at some northern Israeli communities. Nearly 500 of those rockets, however, were misfired and landed in Gaza territory, killing and maiming the terror group’s own population.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Israeli death toll had topped 1,400, with more than 5,431 people wounded. The IDF said that 222 families of hostages taken captive by Hamas were also contacted.
As of Monday night, a dual US-Israeli mother and daughter, and two Israeli women in their eighties had been released by Hamas in response to heavy pressure from the United States, Qatar and Egypt.
Twelve British citizens have been killed by Hamas thus far, and five more are still missing, according to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Dozens of US citizens have also been killed, with others missing, according to the US State Department.
