It started with an apparent IDF intel-gathering operation in Gaza which went wrong and was discovered. An IDF special forces officer was killed, and in the ensuing firefight the IDF managed to kill 7 Hamas terrorists including, luckily, one of their commanders, Nur Barakeh, who was a biggie in their tunnel building operations.
Hamas retaliated with some rocket fire and the IDF reacted to that, the usual tit-for-tat, and that was it. We thought.
Suddenly, at around 4 pm this afternoon (around 5 hours ago) with no warning and no provocation, Hamas and its allies suddenly opened fire on Israel with a massive barrage of rockets and missiles into the south of Israel. Within the space of one hour over 100 missiles were fired! Since the beginning of the barrage at around 4 p.m., over 200 missiles and rockets have been fired into Israel causing serious damage.
In the first hour over 100 rockets were fired into Israel. More than another 100 - who can count any more? - have been shot causing direct hits to houses in Ashkelon and Netivot.
The Red Alert app on my phone has been lit up like a fairground for hours. The rockets are still incoming as I type. I myself am safe in the center of the country, but my compatriots are not and I am furious!
I’m in #Sderot where residents tell me that the college town was hit by at least 5 rockets. One struck a warehouse belonging to a bakery, destroying it completely pic.twitter.com/qGWpaOS2rJ— Anna Ahronheim (@AAhronheim) November 12, 2018
There was also a direct hit by a Kornet anti-tank missile on a bus which minutes earlier was carrying 50 soldiers, seriously injuring one of the soldiers; and generally there has been tons of other property damage across the south with several Israeli citizens injured.
#Israeli Arab/Muslim bus driver is brought into trauma center after his bus received a direct hit from anti-tank missile from Gaza. He says "God loves the #Jews, minutes before before my bus was hit 50 Israeli soldiers de-boarded, they all would have died, its a miracle". pic.twitter.com/7aPjK4ALXP— David Ha'ivri 🇮🇱 دفيذ هعيفري (@haivri) November 12, 2018
RAW FOOTAGE: The skies of southern Israel RIGHT NOW. Dozens of rockets are being fired from #Gaza at Israeli civilians. pic.twitter.com/Iu6QwzUo8l— Israel Defense Forces (@IDFSpokesperson) November 12, 2018
This seems to be the most apt response so far:
A reminder before usual rote "reporting" on inevitable results of #Israel defending itself: #Hamas spent past 8 months burning thousands of dunams, launching IED's designed to attract & kill kids and launching rockets at civilians in Israel. NO other country would tolerate this.— David Abramovitz (@sliv_the_eli) November 12, 2018
We are fed up with our government who seems to be trying to manage the situation rather than solving it once and for all. The residents of the south have no life, and have had no life for over 6 months while incendiary kites and balloons have been launched from Gaza across the border, burning thousands of acres of farmland and nature reserves, killing wildlife and plants. But not a squeak from the international community.
You'll only hear the squeaks and squawks when "Israel hits back first".
