Israel’s southern region was subject to relentless acts of terror emanating from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip over the weekend.
Palestinians indiscriminately fired two rockets that forced more than 100,000 Israeli civilians to reach safety in bomb shelters within the 15-second advisory from the IDF Home Front Command. The first incoming projectile was successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome Aerial Defense System and the second failed to cross into Israeli territory. There were no reported injuries or damage.
In other airborne attacks, Israeli Police Spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld reported that more than 60 terror balloons landed on Israeli territory over the weekend, and that “bomb disposal experts from the Israeli national police are continuing to respond to explosive devices that are landing in open areas, that have been attached to suspicious balloons that have flown-in from the Gaza Strip.” At least 28 fires broke out yesterday alone (Sunday, 23 August), incinerating swathes of wild forests and agricultural fields.
Police Superintendent Rosenfeld said that there will be continued heightened security in southern throughout this week.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit confirmed that “fighter jets, tanks and aircraft struck military posts and an underground infrastructure belonging to the Hamas terror organization in the southern Gaza Strip,” stressing that the nation’s military “remains ready to operate decisively against any attempted terror activity aimed at Israeli civilians or any violation of Israeli sovereignty.”
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin issued several statements meant to reassure residents in the outlying areas under siege. “My dear ones, residents of the periphery,” he said, you are on the “periphery of the State of Israel – not the periphery of Gaza.” After expressing “upmost appreciation of your resilient capacity” on behalf of the nation, the Israeli leader promised “we will not stand by at a time when Hamas is rampant.”
President Rivlin vowed that the IDF will continue to respond “with force and determination,” and vowed that “rockets, blazes and explosive balloons” will never become “routine” in the south or anywhere else in the country. He concluded his remarks, saying, “We trust the IDF and its capabilities and know that it will not relent until quiet has been restored to your border.”