Operation Protective Edge entered its sixth day Sunday, with no end in sight. Hamas fired rockets throughout Shabbos, hitting southern and central Israel, with a major barrage on the Tel Aviv area in late evening.
An American tourist died of a heart attack after sirens wailed in Yerushalayim, a day after a Haifa woman died in similar circumstances.
Palestinian reports say at least 150 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes, including more than 15 in a strike late Shabbos aimed at Hamas’s Gaza police chief.
06:21
Bomb shelters to open in Nahariya, western Galilee
In the wake of Shabbos’ rocket fire from Lebanon, the second such incident since fighting began on Tuesday, cities throughout the north announce that they will open public bomb shelters starting Sunday.
The shelters will open in the city of Nahariya and most towns and villages of the upper Galilee.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit says it has not changed its safety instructions for residents of the north. The opening of the shelters is being done at the behest of local officials.
06:09
Sirens sound in Ben Gurion, throughout center, south
In keeping with their practice in recent days, Hamas appears to have timed its first rocket barrage of Sunday morning for the 6 a.m. news broadcasts.
At 6:05 a.m., sirens sounded – and in places, are still sounding – including in Ben Gurion International Airport and the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Rishon Letziyon, Lod, Yavneh, Nes Tziyona, Mazkeret Batya, Na’an and Rehovot.
Sirens also sounded at the Tzrifin and Bilu industrial zones, in the towns of Kfar Chabad, Yad Mordechai and Netiv Ha’asarah, along with several locations on the Gaza periphery, including the Eshkol Regional Council.
05:57
Sirens sound on Gaza’s southern border
Sirens sound in the Israeli villages of Holit, Nir Yitzhak and Sufa on Gaza’s southern border.
05:21
Tensions run high in protests overseas over Gaza fighting
As always, the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hamas is making waves overseas, including among Jews and Arabs in the West.
Photos and videos of altercations and protests are starting to multiply on social media, suggesting that tensions rise whenever Israel’s borders heat up.
05:12
Hamas claims it had ambushed IDF naval commandos
The IDF identifies Flotilla 13, the army’s elite naval commando group, as the unit that entered the Gaza Strip overnight to destroy a long-range rocket cache in the Gaza City area.
Hamas claims their fighters ambushed the IDF soldiers on Sudaniya Beach.
Four IDF soldiers were lightly wounded in the ensuing gun battle, while three Hamas fighters were killed, according to Hamas sources.
Once the firefight commenced, the beach was bombarded by IDF naval and air forces.
In the end, the IDF says, “the mission was accomplished.”
05:00
Sirens sound in Ashkelon, Lachish
Sirens are sounding in Ashkelon and the Lachish Regional Council.
04:37
Gaza ground battle targeted long-range missile site
The IDF is vowing to “continue to strike at anyone who uses terror against the State of Israel.”
The promise comes in the wake of the army’s first known ground operation in the Gaza Strip since fighting began on Tuesday.
The early Sunday operation led to a firefight on Sudaniya Beach in the northern Gaza Strip that left three Hamas fighters dead and four IDF soldiers lightly wounded.
The target of the operation, the IDF says, is a “storage site contained long-range rockets.”
The site was destroyed, the army reports.
04:25
MDA reports 5 injured in Shabbos rocket barrage
MDA, Israel’s largest ambulance and rescue service, says that five Israelis were injured in the 9 p.m. Saturday rocket barrage on Tel Aviv and other central Israeli cities.
None of the rockets managed to land on an Israeli population center, so the injured were all hurt while rushing to bomb shelters as Color Red sirens sounded.
The organization says its teams also cared for 21 Israelis who suffered from anxiety in the wake of the barrage.
In all, 44 Israelis needed medical care on Saturday, 14 of whom were injured in the rush to bomb shelters.
One 74-year-old American tourist died in Jerusalem from a heart attack precipitated by a siren.
In all, MDA says, it has cared for 208 Israelis since the start of Operation Protective Edge on Tuesday morning.
Read more: THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
{Matzav.com Israel}
