LIVE UPDATES: Israel Under Attack As Terrorists Continue Firing Rockets From Gaza

11:53 AM ET: Israeli fighter jets have demolished al-Shourouk tower in Gaza City, after repeatedly warning those inside to leave. This is the third high-rise building, containing more than 10 stories, to be destroyed by the Israel Defense Forces in this current round of fighting.

11:09 AM ET: The Israel Defense Forces announces it is canceling school in central and southern Israel for the rest of the week, meaning roughly 1 million children will again stay home amid ongoing fighting between Israel and terror groups in the Gaza Strip. All schools south of Netanya and north of the central Negev are to be closed and businesses can only be opened if there is ready access to bomb shelters, the military says

11:00 AM ET: Police announce a curfew in the city of Lod between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. as forces amass in the city to prevent a third night of rioting and violence. The only cause to leave one’s home during those hours will be to seek shelter due to rockets, for medical attention or due to other specifically authorized urgent needs — with police providing the following numbers to seek such approval

10:46 AM ET: A Palestinian rights group asserts that of the nine children reportedly killed in the Gaza Strip yesterday, one was killed in an Israeli strike, another two were killed by a failed rocket launch from Gaza, and the cause of death of six others is not yet known. On its website, Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) says the children were killed in three separate incidents.

8:42 AM ET: The Shin Bet security service identifies four top Hamas commanders who were killed in its joint operation with the Israel Defense Forces earlier today, along with two others who were killed in an earlier strike on a Hamas base. Bassem Issa, the commander of Hamas’s Gaza City Brigade; Jamaa Tahla, the head of its cyber command and responsible for improving the accuracy of the group’s rockets; Jamal Zabeda, the head of research and special projects in its munitions productions department; and Hazzem Hatib, Hamas’s chief engineer in its munitions department were all killed in the strikes, the Shin Bet says. According to the security service, Sami Radwan, who leads Hamas’s technical intelligence department, and Walid Smali, who was in charge of industrial equipment for the group’s weapons production department, were also killed in earlier attacks on Hamas sites. “In addition, 10 other operatives from Hamas’s weapons production and research and development department were killed,” the Shin Bet says.

7:45 AM ET: Defense Minister Benny Gantz extends the Home Front’s emergency state of readiness for a further two weeks and for a distance of 80 kilometers from the Gaza Strip. That distance covers much of central Israel as well as the south. The move implies that Israel expects the violence to continue for a prolonged period. The announcement comes after the Israel Defense Forces says it killed a number of senior Hamas commanders in a joint operation with the Shin Bet internal security service. Earlier Wednesday, Gantz said military operations will continue in the Gaza Strip until there is complete calm on that front.

7:17 AM ET: The Israeli military believes that its strikes killing several top Hamas commanders in the Gaza Strip will likely prompt the terror group to renew its rocket attacks on central Israel. No special instructions have been issued to residents of central Israel at this time.

7:11 AM ET: Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon has seen “on the order of 110 casualties of one form or another,” says Dr. Jonathan Rieck, director of the Emergency Medicine Department. “Most of the cases have been mild, most have been stress reactions,” he says. There were four or five serious casualties, either as the result of direct rocket strikes or blast injuries associated with the rocket strikes, he added. Ten patients of all types are still being treated.

6:46 AM ET: Defense Minister Benny Gantz says military operations will continue in the Gaza Strip for as long as necessary. “Israel is not preparing for a ceasefire. There is currently no end date for the operation. Only when we achieve complete quiet can we talk about calm,” Gantz says during a tour of rocket-hit Ashkelon. “We will not listen to moral preaching against our duty to protect the citizens of Israel.”

10:05 PM ET: The IDF says a nine-story building it destroyed in Gaza housed a number of Hamas offices. The army says it included their intelligence center, their West Bank command and a propaganda department. The IDF warned inhabitants of the building to flee several hours before the attack.

9:56 PM ET: Turkish media, citing Palestinian sources, say that Israel has refused a ceasefire offer put to them by the United Nations and Egypt. Egypt and the UN are said to be working to mediate between Israel and Hamas.

9:04 PM ET: Police say two people were killed in a direct strike on a vehicle in the city of Lod. One woman in her 40s was declared dead at the scene and a second person died after being taken to hospital. Hebrew media reports said she was a 7-year-old girl. A third person was seriously wounded in the direct hit. Police called on people to remain near bomb shelters. The city, a mixed Arab-Jewish city, was the scene of violent riots earlier in the evening. Lod Mayor Yair Revivo said the dead were from the Arab community.

6:19 PM ET: Several wildfires are raging in the Galilee region of northern Israel. Ynet reports fires at least six sites and says they are believed to have been the work of arsonists. The fires come amid widespread protests and riots by Arab Israelis across the country and an escalating military confrontation with terror groups in Gaza.

6:02 PM ET: Netanyahu declares a state of emergency in the mixed Arab and Jewish city of Lod that is the scene of widespread and violent rioting. He makes the decision at a special meeting of top security and legal officials. Police Minister Amir Ohana says he will use his authority to implement the orders. This is the first use of emergency powers over an Arab community in Israel since the end of the military administration over the Arabs of Israel in 1966.

6:00 PM ET: The Hamas-run health ministry says that 32 Palestinians have been killed and 220 people injured in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since the outbreak of hostilities. It did not say how many of the dead were members of terror groups or civilians. Israel says it has killed at least 18 terrorists.

4:38 PM ET: Clashes between Arabs and Israelis have resumed on the streets of Yerushalayim and violence has erupted yet again on Har Habayis as tensions continue escalating.

4:33 PM ET: Arab rioting is continuing in the Arab-Jewish cities of Ramle and Lod tonight, after hours of unrest. Channel 12 reports that dozens of cars have been set alight in Lod. The network says police are escorting some terrified Jewish residents from homes in Lod, and that several synagogues and shops have been set on fire. It also reports that police are doing little to halt the rioting. Lod resident Shiloh Fried tells Channel 12: “Gangs of Arab youths are going street to street, burning stores, smashing windows… Jewish families are huddled at home, terrified of going out… Their cars are being set alight outside… Police are nowhere to be seen.”

4:04 PM ET: Defense Minister Benny Gantz says Israel has “a great many targets in the pipeline” that it can yet strike in Gaza. He says terror organizations “have been severely hit and will continue to be hit due to their reckless decision to fire at Israel.” He also calls for calm between Arabs and Jews within the country. “The IDF keeps everyone safe, Jews and Araba alike,” he says. He calls for “all Israelis to behave responsibly and avoid violence.”

3:16 PM ET: Israeli forces destroy the al-Jawharah high-rise in Gaza City, flaunting threats from Gaza terror groups. Hamas and Islamic Jihad had previously said that such demolitions would lead to further rocket fire on Tel Aviv.

3:10 PM ET: The Home Front Commander has announced that schools will be closed throughout the country tomorrow, due to the escalating attacks from Gaza. The education system is preparing for several days of remote learning.

2:57 PM ET: Gaza media reports that several high-rise buildings have been evacuated due to Israeli threats that they will imminently be demolished. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have both threatened Israel not to destroy any more high-rises in Gaza. They have said they will continue firing rockets at Tel Aviv if Israel does so.

2:28 PM ET: There are reports that Ben Gurion Airport has temporarily stopped air traffic due to the ongoing rocket barrages on central Israel. Air traffic is being rerouted to Cyprus, Channel 12 says.

2:21 PM ET: Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip strike a number of cities and towns in central Israel, injuring at least one person, authorities say. Impact sites are reported in the cities of Rishon Lezion and Ramat Gan outside of Tel Aviv, as well as in Sdot and in the Arab town of Taibe, police say. Medics say they found a woman who was unconscious in Rishon Lezion. Her condition is not immediately known. Medics also treat a man who suffered an acute anxiety attack during the rocket fire.

1:29 PM ET: Fresh rocket launches are reported in the Gaza periphery, as are Iron Dome interceptions. Walla news reports that one rocket hit a structure in a kibbutz. There were no people there at the time.

1:16 PM ET:  A short time ago Israel struck a 13-story residential building in Gaza City. According to Channel 12, prior to the strike people in the building received several warnings, including phone calls and messages, telling them to leave and a preliminary “roof-knocking” strike — using a small missile to strike the roof with minimal damage in order to cause all inside to leave before a major strike. Hamas earlier threatened to launch long-range rockets at Tel Aviv should Israel continue airstrikes in residential areas. Channel 12 says the group was apparently referring to the high-rise in question. It is not yet clear why Israel targeted the building. The network reports it apparently served as the home for many terror operatives, including some released by Israel during the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange.

12:48 PM ET: The military says 630 rockets have been launched toward Israel since yesterday, with 480 rockets fired into Israeli territory and some 150 failed launches that fell inside Gaza territory. It says some 200 of the 480 rockets were intercepted by Iron Dome (the system does not target rockets calculated to hit unpopulated areas).

12:31 PM ET: After a series of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, Hamas threatens to fire rockets at Tel Aviv should Israel continue targeting what it claims are residential areas. Israel conducted attacks inside Gaza City today, some of which were targeted strikes against Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders. Israel says many terror targets are intentionally located within residential areas to shield them from attack. “If the enemy persists in bombing civilian towers, then Tel Aviv will have an appointment with a harsh missile strike that exceeds what happened in Ashkelon,” a spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing says.

12:14 PM ET: The military is reporting an apparent shooting attempt in the West Bank’s Tapuah Junction. It says two assailants have been shot. No Israelis are hurt. According to Ynet, the two rolled down their car’s windows and pulled out handguns which they pointed at soldiers stationed at the intersection. The troops shot them. The report says one of the assailants was killed and another seriously injured.

12:05 PM ET: Hamas’s armed wing says the terror group used a new kind of “Sijeel” missile to strike Israeli cities today, one which the organization claims successfully bypassed Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. “For the first time, we utilized the tactic of firing the Sijeel missiles at Ashkelon, which have a high destructive power and succeeded in overcoming the Iron Dome,” the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades say in a statement. Hebrew media has reported that a temporary malfunction in Iron Dome and the large volume of rockets fired within a short span of time may have contributed to the ability to hit the city. The Israeli army has not commented on Hamas’s claims.

12:02 PM ET: The Israel Defense Forces says it has launched a major offensive against the Hamas terror group’s rocket-launching capabilities in the northern Gaza Strip, after hundreds of projectiles were fired from the area at Israeli cities across the border earlier in the day. IDF spokesperson Hidai Zilberman says some 80 fighter jets, including the advanced F-35 aircraft, are taking part in the operation, which began this afternoon. According to Zilberman, the military aims to destroy dozens of rocket launch tubes that the terror group has buried around the northern Gaza Strip. The spokesman says this would “totally neutralize” the rocket launching capabilities of three Hamas brigades in northern Gaza.