By Hana Levi Julian – JewishPress.com
Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists — and possibly those from Hamas — aimed a barrage of rockets directly at Jerusalem and its surrounding areas at midday Friday, including Jewish communities in Gush Etzion.
At least three explosions were heard in Efrat alone in the barrage that was fired a few minutes after 12 noon, just as Israeli children were being dismissed from their schools.
Photos on social media showed crowds of children waiting at bus stops as they were returning home from school, when the first Red Alert sirens began to wail.
Two long-range rockets fired toward the Jerusalem area were intercepted, one by the Iron Dome, and the second by the longer-range David’s Sling aerial defense systems.
The event marked the third such interception by the David’s Sling system since the start of Operation Shield and Arrow this past Tuesday. One interception by the system took place over Tel Aviv on Wednesday; the second took place over Rishon Lezion on Thursday. Each interceptor missile for David’s Sling comes with a $1 million price tag.
Residents reported hearing the explosions in Jerusalem, Gush Etzion and Beit Shemesh.
One rocket reportedly landed in an open area near the Gush Etzion community of Bat Ayin, a small town nestled in the Judean Hills. There were two interceptions over Har Gilo. Shrapnel from one of the interceptions landed near Beit Shemesh. No physical injuries reported.
Numerous rockets were also fired at communities in the Gaza Envelope, Sderot, and Sapir College, and the rocket fire towards this area continued for at least half an hour following the attack on Jerusalem.
One home in Sderot sustained a direct hit, but no physical injuries were reported, according to the municipality.
The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency response service treated multiple residents for severe anxiety.
The rocket fire resumed shortly after 11 am on Friday, more than 12 hours after the attacks ended at around 10 pm Thursday night.
Earlier Thursday evening, a 70-year-old woman was killed and more than a dozen other people were wounded in rocket fire that destroyed the second floor of an apartment building in Rehovot, and directly struck homes in Sderot.
The rocket that struck Rehovot was Iranian-made; it succeeded in the strike due to a technical issue that caused the Iron Dome interceptor missile to miss the incoming projectile.
The Israel Defense Forces carried out multiple air strikes in Gaza throughout the morning, and was reportedly attacking the southern city of Rafah, along Gaza’s border with Egypt.
Since the start of Operation Shield and Arrow on Tuesday morning, the IDF struck 215 positions of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters on Friday that Israeli strikes in Gaza killed 16 terrorist and 10 civilians, and another four civilians were killed by PIJ terrorist rockets that fell short.
Regarding the rocket that hit Rehovot, killing one, he says there was a technical issue that caused the interceptor missile not to hit the incoming projectile.
VIDEO: Israel downs rocket using ‘David Sling’ Defense System for the first time
Gut Voch from Beit Shemesh! Here’s a bit of an update. We didn’t hear the sirens, and the app on our phones didn’t work either. If there isn’t a cell tower in your immediate vicinity it’s just not audible. We were in our car, near where a rocket was intercepted and we weren’t the only drivers who were completely clueless. Friday traffic was just as bad as it always is. Now there’s a cease fire. BIG mistake. We need to keep going, battering Gaza with everything we’ve got. If we stop now, it’ll just start up again in a few… Read more »