Israel: Hamas Sends Rocket Barrages Into Tel Aviv And Jerusalem, 3.5 Million Lives in Danger

Rockets from Gaza continue to be fired into Israel, targeting the millions of civilians residing in the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem metropolitan areas.

On two separate occasions Tuesday evening, rocket attacks were launched from the Gaza strip into Tel Aviv. Both attempts were shot down by the Iron Dome air defense battery, a system designed to intercept short-range rocket fire.

Iron Dome Defense Battery (Reuters)

Following the attacks on Tel Aviv, Israel’s Home Front Command told city officials to open all public bomb shelters to citizens.

Hamas claimed it has fired four rockets into Jerusalem, Israel’s capital city with a population of nearly one million. At 10:30 PM local time, the IDF confirmed a rocket had exploded in the Jerusalem area. Hamas also claimed it had fired a rocket into the northern Israeli city of Haifa, home to over a quarter-million.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials told residents near its Gaza border to remain in bomb shelters and protected areas, stemming from the fear that a Hamas terror cell has infiltrated Israeli territory.

Earlier Tuesday evening, Hamas terrorists attempted to attack an Israeli army base from the sea in the area near Kibbutz Zikim. the Israel Defense Forces responded by killing five of the jihadis, according to an IDF spokesman. Hamas took responsibility for the invasion in which they tried to utilize the beachfront to sneak into Israeli territory. IDF officials worried that other Hamas terrorists have successfully clandestinely infiltrated Israel’s territory and had managed to get past border guards and watchtowers.

The IDF says it has now struck over 200 terror targets in Gaza since Operation Protective Edge began.

Israeli air strike on Gaza (Reuters)

The White House weighed in on the ongoing clashes between Israeli forces and the terrorist group Hamas:

“We strongly condemn the continuing rocket fire inside of Israel and the deliberate targeting of civilians by terrorist organizations in Gaza. No country can accept rocket fire aimed at civilians and we support Israel’s right to defend itself against these vicious attacks,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing at 2:30pm eastern time.