Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket at the southern city of Beersheba early Wednesday that landed and exploded in the courtyard of a house, causing serious damage, but no injuries.

The Israel Defense Forces said it had identified two launches from Gaza. One targeted Beersheba located some 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Strip. A second rocket was fired out to sea and landed off the coast of a major city in the Tel Aviv area.

Rocket attacks on Beersheba are rare and considered a major escalation. The attack came after Israel’s defense minister warned the military was gearing up for a major strike on Gaza to stop ongoing violence.

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Rocket warning sirens blared at 3:40 a.m. and residents reported hearing a loud blast. The rocket landed in the courtyard of a private house. No one was hurt in the explosion but five people were being treated for anxiety.

A Magen David Adom medic said among those treated were a mother and her three children. The woman had lightly hurt her head when she fell running to the bomb shelter when the siren went off, he said, adding that they were taken to a hospital.

A woman and three children were inside this home in #Israel when the rocket from #Gaza slammed into their home. pic.twitter.com/1210PdqRxF — Emanuel Miller (@emanumiller) October 17, 2018

It was only the second rocket fired at Beersheba since the 2014 Gaza war. The previous rocket struck a field north of Beersheba on August 9 and came as Palestinians fired dozens of projectiles at Israeli communities along the Gaza border.

Most of those attacks are carried out with mortars or short-range Qassam rockets, however, Palestinian terror groups can only reach Beersheba with longer-range rockets, notably the Grad.

Even though the sirens went off, the rocket was not intercepted by the Iron Dome system.

Following the attack, the Beersheba municipality announced that schools in the city would be closed for the day.

In an initial response, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman ordered the crossings into Gaza closed. Media reports said IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot was cutting short his visit to the US, following the attack.

The attack come after Liberman on Tuesday urged the cabinet to authorize large-scale military campaign against the Hamas terror group in Gaza in light of ongoing riots and violence along the Strip’s security fence.

Sirens wail across Beersheva as Red Alert is activated for an incoming rocket from #Gaza. #Israel pic.twitter.com/1NlCp2YIHq — Joe (@Jtruzmah) October 17, 2018

“I’ve held a series of meetings with the head of the Southern Command, the head of the [Gaza] Division, the brigade commanders, the battalion commanders, also with soldiers. My impression is that they all have reached the understanding that the situation as it is today cannot continue,” Liberman said.

According to the defense minister’s assessment, a “serious blow” to Hamas would result in four to five years of calm along the Gaza border — akin to the quiet that persisted from the end of the 2014 Gaza war, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge, until the start of the current round of clashes in late March, a few limited skirmishes notwithstanding.

Since March 30, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have participated in a series of protests and riots dubbed the “Great March of Return,” which have mostly involved the burning of tires and rock-throwing along the security fence, but have also seen shooting attacks and bombings as well as the sending of incendiary balloons and kites into Israel.

There have also been several flareups that took Israel and Hamas to the brink of war, with Palestinians firing rockets into Israel and the IDF responding with airstrikes.

Some 155 Palestinians have been killed and thousands more have been injured in the clashes with IDF troops, according to AP figures; Hamas has acknowledged that dozens of the dead were its members. One Israeli soldier was shot dead by a sniper on the border.

The riots began as weekly events, but in recent weeks — due to both an internal Palestinian conflict and failed indirect negotiations with Israel — the clashes have become a daily event.

The defense minister said the “straw that broke the camel’s back” and convinced him that a full-scale military action was necessary in Gaza was the rioting that took place along the border last Friday evening, after Israel allowed additional fuel into the Strip that had been purchased by Qatar.

“We have exhausted all other options in Gaza,” Liberman said during a visit to the IDF’s Gaza Division headquarters near the Strip.

“Now is the time to make decisions,” he added.

The security cabinet, which approves such military campaigns, met Sunday to discuss the possibility of an attack against Hamas, but ultimately decided to wait until the week’s end in order to give negotiators a chance to convince the group to abandon its current violent tactics.

On Wednesday, the cabinet was due to meet again, but the meeting was called off in the wake of the overnight rocket attack.</s>GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli jets struck targets in the Gaza Strip early on Wednesday after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants enclave struck a house in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, the Israeli military said.

A medical official told Israel Radio that three people were taken to hospital after the rocket struck the house. Residents in the Gaza Strip said jets had targeted eight locations. The military said another rocket had been launched from Gaza, falling into the sea.

Health ministry officials in Gaza said three people were wounded in an Israeli air strike against an armed training camp in Rafah, in the south of the coastal strip. There were no reports of serious injuries in Israel.

Tensions along the Israel-Gaza border have been simmering for months amid weekly border protests and the launching by Palestinian militants of incendiary balloons and kites across the border fence.

Israeli leaders have warned that they are prepared to escalate military action on Gaza to curb attacks and protests. Israel and Hamas, which controls Gaza, fought a war in 2014.

Around 200 Gazans have been killed by Israeli troops since the border protests began on March 30, according to Palestinian Health Ministry figures.

The Israeli military said the demonstrators last Friday hurled rocks, explosive devices, firebombs and grenades. Gaza health officials said seven Palestinians were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on a group that broke through the fence.

Israel has drawn international condemnation for its use of deadly force, but says it is protecting its borders and civilian population.

After the latest strikes, video footage from Beersheba, about 40 km (25 miles) from the Gaza Strip, showed extensive damage to a concrete and stone house in a residential street.

Still photos aired on Israeli Channel 2 showed large black plumes of smoke rising from various locations in the Gaza Strip

An Egyptian security delegation was visiting the Gaza Strip to try to restore calm.

Israel’s military chief cut short a visit to the United States and was returning home, and schools were to be shut in Beersheba for the day, the reports said.

Israeli reports said Israel had closed the commercial and pedestrian crossing in and out of the Gaza Strip and had cut the fishing limit to three miles.

Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but maintains tight control of its land and sea borders, citing security concerns. Egypt also restricts movement in and out of Gaza on its border.</s>Jerusalem: A rocket fired from Gaza has struck a residential home in Beersheba, southern Israel, and the Israeli military began attacking militant sites in Gaza in response after days of rising tensions.

The Magen David Adom medical service said a woman and her three children, whose home in Beersheba was struck, were being treated for shock after they fled to their shelter upon being awaken by warning sirens shortly before 4am. Her swift response likely saved their lives, as the home was destroyed and debris was scattered throughout the neighbourhood.

The medical service said two other Beersheba residents were injured during the panic to seek cover.

The military said another rocket from Gaza landed in the sea, just off the coast of one of the larger cities in central Israel. No injuries were reported.

Following the attacks, schools in Beersheba were closed and Israel's military chief was cutting short his visit to the United States to come back and manage the crisis.</s>GAZA: Israeli jets struck targets in the Gaza Strip early on Wednesday after a rocket fired by militants in the coastal enclave struck a house in the major Israeli city of Beersheba, the Israeli military said.

A medical official told Israel Radio that three people were taken to hospital with injuries after the rocket struck the house. Residents in the Gaza Strip said jets had targeted three locations but there were no initial reports of casualties.</s>TEL AVIV — A long-range rocket fired from the Gaza Strip early Wednesday landed in the largest city in southern Israel, destroying part of a house. It was the first rocket to hit Beersheba, a city of 200,000, since 2014.

Another rocket fired from Gaza landed in the sea near Tel Aviv — Israel's largest city.

The firing of more advanced rockets was an escalation in the ongoing conflict between militants in the blockaded Palestinian enclave and Israel. Israel said that Hamas has fired more than 350 rockets into Israel over the last six months.

A woman and her three children, including an infant, were treated for shock after the rocket hit her house in Beersheba. After hearing sirens warning of an attack, the family took cover in their home’s bomb shelter, a military spokesman said. Schools in the south of Israel were closed on Wednesday as a result.

In response to Wednesday’s attack the Israeli military said that it struck more than 20 military targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including what it described as a tunnel, Hamas facilities and a manufacturing facility. It also closed the two border crossings between Gaza and Israel and reduced Gazan’s fishing space to three nautical miles.

One person was killed and three injured, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks, which took place on the eve of a visit by the chief of Egyptian intelligence. He hopes to broker a long-term cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians as well as a reconciliation between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah.

A joint statement by an umbrella organization representing several Palestinian military wings denied firing the missiles.

“The resistance wings in the joint operations room salute the Egyptian effort to achieve the demands of our people, and reject all the irresponsible attempts that try to deviate the compass and sabotage the Egyptian effort, including the rocket fire last night,” said the Joint Chamber of Palestinian Resistance.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for the attack, military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.

“We strongly urge Hamas not to test our resolve,” he said, warning the group from further escalating the conflict.

Rockets and more recently incendiary kites and explosive balloons are frequently aimed at the communities neighboring Gaza, though this is the farthest they’ve reached in four years. The Israeli military has responded to these with strikes on the desperately poor enclave.

There are also regular and deadly protests next to the border fence — which turn violent at times — aimed at easing the blockade. This past Friday more than 14,000 gathered in different locations, where they threw rocks, explosive devices, firebombs and grenades at IDF troops and the security fence, the Israeli military said, adding that it fired on the protesters. Five Palestinians were killed and 60 injured, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

Since March, 155 Palestinians have been killed during the protests. One Israeli soldier was killed by sniper fire in July.

Hamas won elections to rule Gaza in 2006. Since then, there have been three major rounds of fighting between Israel and Gaza. Israel and Egypt have enforced a border blockade since 2007, which has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern the densely populated strip of land that is home to some 2 million.

It has also devastated Gaza's economy, made it virtually impossible for people to enter and exit the territory, and left residents with little clean water and just a few hours of electricity a day.

Israel argues that Hamas could have ended the suffering of Gaza's people by disarming and renouncing violence.

Rachel Elbaum reported from London; Paul Goldman and Lawahez Jabari reported from Tel Aviv.</s>Israeli warplanes strike 20 targets in Gaza Strip in retaliation for rocket fire from the Palestinian territory

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories – Israeli warplanes struck the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after the first rocket fire from the Palestinian territory in weeks hit an Israeli city, in a blow to efforts to avert a new war.

Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas disavowed the rocket fire, saying they rejected "all irresponsible attempts" to undermine Egyptian efforts to broker a new long-term truce.

But Israel, which holds Hamas responsible for all rocket fire from the territory regardless of who launches it, struck 20 targets in Gaza, killing one Palestinian, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Israel also closed both its border crossings with Gaza in reprisal, further isolating the blockaded enclave where deteriorating living conditions have stoked violent protests along the border.

Gaza militants fired two rockets before dawn, one of which caused major damage to a family home in the southern city of Beersheba, 40 kilometers away, the Israeli army said.

The family of 3 children narrowly escaped injury after their mother moved them into the safe room, with much of the rest of the house destroyed, the army said.

"At 4 am (0100 GMT), Israelis in the city of Beersheba were running to bomb shelters after a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip at Israel," the army tweeted.

The other rocket came down in the sea off Tel Aviv, 70 kilometers from Gaza, the army said.

"Israel views with utmost gravity the attacks against it on the fence, on the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip, on Beersheba – everywhere," he said, referencing months of often violent protests in Gaza.

"If the attacks don't stop, we'll stop them. I want to tell you today – Israel will take very strong action."

Hamas and allied militant group Islamic Jihad condemned the latest rocket fire as "irresponsible".

But Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus rejected the disavowal, saying Hamas bore "full responsibility" as Gaza's de facto ruler.

Retaliatory strikes had hit 20 targets, including a Hamas attack tunnel and an "advanced weapons manufacturing site", he said.

They killed one Palestinian in northern Gaza who the army said was set to launch a rocket.

The military released a video showing a man near the border preparing a rocket for launch before being hit by a missile strike.

At least three other Palestinians were wounded in the strikes, the Gaza health ministry said.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman ordered the closure of both of Israel's border crossings with Gaza in reprisal, making the heavily restricted Rafah crossing with Egypt the enclave's sole gateway to the outside world.

Lieberman also ordered the reduction of the permitted fishing zone off the Gaza coast to three nautical miles from six, his ministry said.

Lieberman already suspended deliveries of fuel that had been trucked daily into Gaza under a deal brokered by the United Nations.

It had seen thousands of liters of fuel paid for by Qatar delivered to generate desperately needed power in the impoverished territory.

Hamas has fought 3 wars with Israel since 2008 and fears of a fourth have spurred efforts by Egypt and the United Nations for a wider deal that would see Israel ease its blockade in exchange for a long-term truce with the Islamists.

During a meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday, UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov called the latest rocket launches a "dangerous escalation".

"Unfortunately, they fit a pattern of provocations that seek to bring Israel and Gaza into another deadly conflict and confrontation," he said, pledging to work with all sides to avert one.

The European Union said the "indiscriminate" missiles fired from Gaza were "completely unacceptable".

Rivlin said there could be no easing of the blockade while Israelis remained under threat of rocket attack.

"So long as the missiles and the provocation continue on, there is no chance of easing the suffering of the people of Gaza," he said.

Rivlin praised the fast reaction of Israelis in Beersheba, saying the mother had saved her family.

The UN says Israel's 11-year blockade has resulted in a "catastrophic" humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Its two million residents endure routine power cuts and a chronic shortage of safe drinking water, and more than two-thirds are dependent on international aid.

The latest flare-up comes after months of Palestinian protests along the Gaza border that have drawn a deadly response from Israeli troops.

The protesters have been demanding an end to Israel's blockade and the right of return to land now inside Israel, from which their families were expelled or fled during the 1948 war that accompanied its creation.

At least 207 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began on March 30.

One Israeli soldier has been killed by Palestinian sniper fire over the same period. – Rappler.com</s>Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Israeli fighter jets targeted three areas in the Gaza Strip Wednesday -- retaliation for an earlier rocket attack -- amid intense rioting along the border that may lead to more attacks on Hamas.

Officials said the airstrikes killed a 25-year-old man. Earlier Wednesday, a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip hit a home in Beersheba, Israel. No injuries were reported.

"At 4 a.m. Israelis in the city of Beersheba were running to bomb shelters after a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip at Israel," The Israel Defense Force said on Twitter. "We will defend Israeli civilians."

There were actually two rockets fired from Gaza, one of which landed in the sea near Tel Aviv. The IDF identified the area where the rockets originated and blamed Hamas.

The rocket attack, the first to hit Beershebain four years, required a weapon with a longer range. Israel has an Iron Dome defense system to intercept incoming missiles and rockets, but officials said one got through.

Hamas denied responsibility, saying it rejects "all irresponsible attempts" to undermine a truce.

The confrontations came amid growing protests by Palestinian refugees who want to return to their homes, which are now under Israeli control. Israel's military has killed more than 200 Palestinians and injured more than 18,000 in clashes during the violent demonstrations. Gaza's Health Ministry estimates 68 Palestinians have had limbs amputated.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to escalate to a "different kind of activity."

"If it has any sense, Hamas will cease fire and violent outbursts -- now," he said.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said rioting along the Gaza border was the "straw that broke the camel's back."

"We have exhausted all other options in Gaza," Liberman said. "Now is the time to make decisions. We need to strike a serious blow at Hamas. That is the only way to bring back quiet."</s>JERUSALEM (JTA) — A single mother whose Beersheba home was leveled by a rocket fired from Gaza said she and her three boys have nothing left.

“I have no house or memories left. The kids have nothing,” Miri Tamano told Haaretz.

Tamano woke her children early on Wednesday morning when Code Red sirens began sounding in Beersheba and other southern Israel communities. She reportedly had just closed the door to the home’s secure room when a long-range Grad missile packed with explosives crashed through the room where her sons had been sleeping.

The house has been declared uninhabitable and almost nothing inside is salvageable.

She told Israeli media on Thursday that she and her children witnessed a “miracle.”

The Tamano family already has received 4,000 shekels or more than $1,000 from donations made from Jews in the Diaspora to the Jewish Agency. The money is meant to help them with immediate needs as they search for housing and clothes to wear.

The Jewish Federation of Montreal also has come forward with a grant of nearly $7,000.

Vera Tamano, Miri’s sister, told Israeli media: “Nothing is left of the home but the safe room, which is what saved them. She’s like a lioness. She’s special. The way she behaved was exemplary.”

The Israel Tax Authority will provide the family with funds to stay in a hotel or other temporary housing until more permanent housing is found. A government terror victims fund will help with rebuilding the family home.

Rockets were fired from Gaza on southern Israeli beginning at about 3:30 on Wednesday morning. One of the rockets landed directly on the Tamano’s house. Another landed just off the coast near Tel Aviv but did not cause any damage.

The Iron Dome missile defense system did not activate during the rocket attacks. The military is investigating why it was not triggered.

Israel retaliated by bombing at least 20 military targets in Gaza, including a cross-border tunnel, the second bombed in two weeks.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman threatened to escalate actions against Hamas, the terrorist group that runs the Gaza Strip.

“We have exhausted all other options in Gaza. … We need to strike a serious blow at Hamas. That’s the only way to bring back quiet,” he said Tuesday, the day before the attack, during a visit to army headquarters near the Gaza border.

Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad condemned the rocket fire on Beersheba, saying it was an effort to derail Egyptian efforts to broker a long-term cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, and other armed groups in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces said it holds Hamas responsible for the rocket fire, no matter which group actually fired the rockets.</s>JERUSALEM: In response to rocket attacks that took place in the Southern city of Beersheba and greater Tel Aviv area on Wednesday, the Israel defence forces have bombed several targets in Gaza.

IDF spokesperson Lt.Col. Jonathan Conricus said "There are only two organizations in Gaza that have this caliber of rocket: Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It's not hard to narrow down who's behind it", reports The Times of Israel. However, in a joint statement, Hamas and PIJ publicly condemned the rocket attack, saying it was "irresponsible" and threatened to derail an Egypt-led negotiation effort. The IDF said it bombed some 20 targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including an attack tunnel being dug toward Israel from outside the city of Khan Younis.

The entrance to a naval tunnel, which would be used by Hamas's naval commando unit, was also destroyed in the retaliatory airstrikes.

Israeli air force jets bombed a number of weapons factory, military bases and other facilities connected to Hamas's tunnel-building efforts.

Palestinian media reported that the retaliatory strikes hit throughout the Gaza Strip in southern Gaza in Rafah and Khan Younis, around the central Gaza City and in the north of the enclave near Beit Lahiya.

Three people were moderately wounded in the strikes near Rafah, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

An Israeli aircraft also targeted a group of Palestinian terrorists as they attempted to launch a projectile at Israel from the northern Gaza Strip, the spokesman said Hamas and PIJ said they "affirm our preparedness to confront the occupation's assaults.

Our guns will continue to be a protective shield for our people and our weapons are drawn at the face of our enemy.

" IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis said, "Iron Dome air defence batteries were not activated during the rocket attack".

Rocket attacks on Beersheba home to more than 200,000 people are rare and considered a major escalation. It was only the second rocket fired at Beersheba since the 2014 Gaza war.

The previous rocket, which struck a field north of Beersheba on August 9, came as Palestinians fired dozens of projectiles at Israeli communities along the Gaza border.

Following the rocket attack, schools were closed in Beersheba and in the communities immediately surrounding the Gaza Strip, the army said.

Residents of the Gaza periphery were also barred from gathering in groups larger than 300 people outdoors and 500 people indoors.</s>GAZA CITY: Israeli warplanes struck the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after the first rocket fire from the Palestinian territory in weeks hit an Israeli city, in a blow to efforts to avert a new war.

Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas disavowed the rocket fire, saying they rejected "all irresponsible attempts" to undermine Egyptian efforts to broker a new long-term truce. But Israel, which holds Hamas responsible for all rocket fire from the territory regardless of who launches it, struck 20 targets in Gaza, killing one Palestinian, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Israel also closed both its border crossings with Gaza in reprisal, further isolating the blockaded enclave where deteriorating living conditions have stoked violent protests along the border. Gaza militants fired two rockets before dawn, one of which caused major damage to a family home in the southern city of Beersheba, 40 kilometres away, the Israeli army said.

The family of three children narrowly escaped injury after their mother moved them into the safe room, with much of the rest of the house destroyed, the army said. "At 4 am (0100 GMT), Israelis in the city of Beersheba were running to bomb shelters after a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip at Israel," the army tweeted.

The other rocket came down in the sea off Tel Aviv, 70 kilometres from Gaza, the army said. Speaking after meeting with senior security officials Wednesday afternoon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged a forceful response.

"Israel views with utmost gravity the attacks against it on the fence, on the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip, on Beersheba -- everywhere," he said, referencing months of often violent protests in Gaza.

"If the attacks don’t stop, we’ll stop them. I want to tell you today -- Israel will take very strong action." Hamas and allied militant group Islamic Jihad condemned the latest rocket fire as "irresponsible".

But Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus rejected the disavowal, saying Hamas bore "full responsibility" as Gaza’s de facto ruler. Retaliatory strikes had hit 20 targets, including a Hamas attack tunnel and an "advanced weapons manufacturing site", he said.

They killed one Palestinian in northern Gaza who the army said was set to launch a rocket. The military released a video showing a man near the border preparing a rocket for launch before being hit by a missile strike.

At least three other Palestinians were wounded in the strikes, the Gaza health ministry said. Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman ordered the closure of both of Israel’s border crossings with Gaza in reprisal, making the heavily restricted Rafah crossing with Egypt the enclave’s sole gateway to the outside world.
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip launch two rockets at Israel, one landing in the southern city of Beersheba, causing serious damage to a house but no injuries, and the other landing in the sea.