Several people in Sderot were reported wounded shortly after 7:30 p.m. Wednesday after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a residential building as part of a massive salvo on central Israel. One of the wounded, a six-year-old boy, was in critical condition, according to Channel 12 News. The boy was in the apartment building that was hit by shrapnel from one of the rockets despite being in a sheltered area in his apartment. The shrapnel apparently penetrated the window.
According to additional Israeli media outlets, at least two other people sustained moderate wounds from the attack on Sderot, including a 40-year-old woman and another boy. Three others suffered minor injuries in Sderot.
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Another rocket fired from Gaza hit a residential building in Ashkelon Wednesday evening. None of the residents of the home were wounded, but the blast caused enormous damage. A four-year-old boy had been sleeping in the room just before the rocket impact, and his family members managed to move him to a place of safety.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit announced a strike on a car carrying members of an anti-tank missile crew affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday. IAF aircraft targeted the vehicle in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli citizen killed by an anti-tank missile near the Gaza border on Wednesday morning was IDF Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib of the Nahal Brigade, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit announced Wednesday afternoon. Tabib, 21, was from Elyakim.
Tabib was slated to complete his IDF service in June. He is survived by his parents, Tali and Amir, and a younger brother.
The IDF confirmed on Wednesday afternoon the names of some of the senior Hamas operatives killed in a highly complex, joint operation by the IDF and the Shin Bet security agency on Wednesday.
The IDF described the operation as "first-of-its-kind," in that it killed multiple members of Hamas' top command in two cities simultaneously. The IDF indicated that the operatives killed in the joint operation were close associates of Hamas arch-terrorist Mohammed Deif, who himself has evaded multiple attempts on his life.
Hamas personnel confirmed dead included:
Bassem Issa, commander of Hamas's Gaza City Brigade since 2017, who has been involved in a number of terrorist attacks in recent years as well as Hamas' weapons manufacturing.
Jamaa Tahla, head of Hamas' cyber activity and head of the organization's project to improve missile precision. Tahla was considered Deif's right-hand man.
Jamal Zabeda, head of R&D and special project for Hamas' weapons manufacturing efforts.
Hazzem Hatib, chief weapons manufacturing engineer.
Sami Radwan, head of Hamas' technical intelligence operations.
Walid Smali, who oversaw the industrial equipment section of Hamas' weapons manufacturing.
A number of other Hamas operatives were also killed in the operation.
Southern and central Israel came under massive rocket barrages Wednesday afternoon after the IDF announced that it and the Shin Bet security agency carried out targeted hits against a number of operatives in the Hamas "general staff" in Gaza City and Khan Younis on Wednesday. From 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., over 100 rockets were fired at Israel. Cities targeted included Beersheba and Dimona.
Hamas announced in response that it intended to step up rocket fire in response to Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip, as well as expand rocket fire to "new targets."
Shortly before 3 p.m., residents of Ashkelon, Ashdod, and numerous other communities in southern Israel and the western Negev were sent running to shelters following more rocket salvos. Interceptions could be heard from as far away as Rehovot.
OPERATIONAL FOOTAGE: This is the moment we targeted a terrorist squad preparing to launch an explosive UAV from Gaza into Israel. pic.twitter.com/6adNZ5poRd
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 12, 2021
Earlier Wednesday, three people were killed in two separate incidents amid further escalation between Israel and Hamas, the terrorist group controlling the Gaza Strip. Six Israelis have been killed and dozens have been wounded since the recent round of violence erupted on Monday.
Hamas terrorists fired an anti-tank missile from the northern Gaza Strip across the Israeli border around mid-morning Wednesday, hitting a vehicle near the security fence, the IDF said. One person was killed, two others sustained serious wounds and one was lightly injured.
The casualties were evacuated from the scene under fire and were rushed to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, the military said.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack almost immediately.
Two Israelis, Khalil Awad, 52, and his 16-year-old daughter Nadin, were killed when a rocket hit their home in the Arab village of Dahmash during an unprecedented rocket barrage on southern and central Israel in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Sirens blared across an area stretching from Beersheba in the south to the northern suburbs of Tel Aviv starting at about 2:45 a.m. sending millions of Israelis scrambling for shelter.
Gaza-based terrorists fired hundreds of rockets at these areas, following a series of Israeli airstrikes on Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Guardian of the Walls.
According to the IDF, over 1,000 rockets have been fired on Israel since Monday. The Iron Dome defense system intercepted 90% of them.
In Tel Aviv, an 80-year-old man suffered a heart attack while running for shelter, Magen David Adom paramedics said.
Another missile hit a house in the town of Yehud, just north of the Ben Gurion International Airport. The family, whose members had rushed to a secure room, was unharmed.
Israel's main gateway was shuttered for several hours on Tuesday, as rocket fire threatened the safety of air traffic.
The Home Front Command said the areas that came under fire overnight remain under a state of emergency, adding that schools will remain closed and urging residents to remain in proximity to shelters.
To the citizens of Gaza:
The IDF is striking Hamas weapons stores hidden inside civilian buildings in Gaza.
Although Hamas wants to put you in harm's way, we urge you to stay away from Hamas' weapons sites and get to safety.
Our goal is only to strike terror.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 11, 2021
Israel carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Gaza in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The IDF said two senior officials in Hamas' intelligence-gathering apparatus were killed in the strikes, and the homes of four senior Hamas officials were bombed as well.
The strikes eliminated 500 targets, including multiple rocket-launching positions, weapon mills, and rocket pits, the military said.
IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman said the military "has no plans" to suspend its strike on Gaza at this time.
"The Israeli public is under attack and it's our job to cut that as short as possible by hurting the enemy," he said, adding that senior Hamas officials have gone underground.
Zilberman said that ground forces, including the Golani Brigade, the Paratroopers, and Armored Corps troops were gearing up for a potential incursion of the Strip, should the government order one.
"Hamas has the ability to sustain prolonged rocket fire, for days. We're undermining their offensive capabilities but they won't run out of rockets tomorrow. We will deal Hamas blow after blow until they realize it's just not worth it," he asserted.
Gaza media outlets reported that 35 Palestinians were killed in the shelling.
One multi-story residential building in Gaza collapsed and another was heavily damaged after they were hit by Israeli airstrikes.
Operation Guardian of the Walls has emerged as the heaviest offensive between Israel and Hamas since the 2014 war in Gaza. It has prompted international concern that the situation could spiral out of control.
The White House said on Tuesday that Israel has a legitimate right to defend itself from Hamas rocket attacks but applied pressure on Israel over the treatment of Palestinians, saying Jerusalem "must be a place of coexistence."
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that President Joe Biden primary focus was on de-escalation.
She said the United States condemned rocket attacks by Hamas and other groups, including attacks on Jerusalem, and that Biden's support for "Israel's security, for its legitimate right to defend itself and its people, is fundamental and will never waver."
"Jerusalem, a city of such importance to people of faith around the world, must be a place of co-existence," Psaki said.
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