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| Heavy Barrage of Rockets From Gaza Hits Southern Israel | Heavy Barrage of Rockets From Gaza Hits Southern Israel |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| JERUSALEM — A barrage of 60 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip rained down across southern Israel on Wednesday afternoon, sending thousands of Israelis scrambling into bomb shelters. It was by far the most intense attack since a cease-fire that ended eight days of deadly cross-border violence in 2012. | |
| Israel retaliated Wednesday night with airstrikes on what the military said were 29 “terror sites” throughout the Gaza Strip, after hitting two other locations with artillery fire. Officials in Gaza reported no injuries. | Israel retaliated Wednesday night with airstrikes on what the military said were 29 “terror sites” throughout the Gaza Strip, after hitting two other locations with artillery fire. Officials in Gaza reported no injuries. |
| Islamic Jihad, one of several militant Palestinian groups in Gaza, asserted responsibility for the rockets, saying they were a response to an Israeli strike on Tuesday that killed three of its members. The Israeli military said the three had fired a mortar at its soldiers patrolling just inside Gaza’s border. | Islamic Jihad, one of several militant Palestinian groups in Gaza, asserted responsibility for the rockets, saying they were a response to an Israeli strike on Tuesday that killed three of its members. The Israeli military said the three had fired a mortar at its soldiers patrolling just inside Gaza’s border. |
| Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the Israeli police, said that one rocket landed near a library in the border town of Sderot, and another near a gas station in the Negev Desert, but that damage was limited to roads. Three rockets were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, according to the military. | Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the Israeli police, said that one rocket landed near a library in the border town of Sderot, and another near a gas station in the Negev Desert, but that damage was limited to roads. Three rockets were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, according to the military. |
| Israeli news media reported that a 57-year-old woman in Sderot was injured as she ran for cover. | Israeli news media reported that a 57-year-old woman in Sderot was injured as she ran for cover. |
| “It’s very massive and it’s very close,” Dani Rachamim, 60, who lives on a kibbutz near Gaza’s eastern border, said in a telephone interview. “It’s frightening, because you don’t know where it will fall. I’m sitting watching the TV and I hear the red alert, and when I start to run to the bomb shelter, I already heard the boom. | “It’s very massive and it’s very close,” Dani Rachamim, 60, who lives on a kibbutz near Gaza’s eastern border, said in a telephone interview. “It’s frightening, because you don’t know where it will fall. I’m sitting watching the TV and I hear the red alert, and when I start to run to the bomb shelter, I already heard the boom. |
| “I didn’t manage to arrive to the bomb shelter even, it was so quick,” Mr. Rachamim added. “I heard at least three booms around our kibbutz.” | “I didn’t manage to arrive to the bomb shelter even, it was so quick,” Mr. Rachamim added. “I heard at least three booms around our kibbutz.” |
| Gaza residents were also ordered to stay inside as they geared for an Israeli response. The head of the Israel Defense Forces’ southern command convened an emergency meeting. | Gaza residents were also ordered to stay inside as they geared for an Israeli response. The head of the Israel Defense Forces’ southern command convened an emergency meeting. |
| A spokesman for the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, whose three members were killed in Tuesday’s Israeli airstrike, said in a text message that the rockets “establish a new phase: any aggression will be met with a fierce response.” | A spokesman for the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, whose three members were killed in Tuesday’s Israeli airstrike, said in a text message that the rockets “establish a new phase: any aggression will be met with a fierce response.” |
| A senior Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, asked, “How can one talk about a cease-fire when more than 20 rockets are fired into Israel?” | A senior Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, asked, “How can one talk about a cease-fire when more than 20 rockets are fired into Israel?” |
| Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel issued a statement even as the rockets were falling. | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel issued a statement even as the rockets were falling. |
| “It looks like this rocket attack came in response to our interception acts yesterday, and I would like to clarify that we will not be deterred,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “We will continue to intercept and hurt those who want to hurt us. We will continue to defend ourselves sternly against the terror organizations in Gaza.” | “It looks like this rocket attack came in response to our interception acts yesterday, and I would like to clarify that we will not be deterred,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “We will continue to intercept and hurt those who want to hurt us. We will continue to defend ourselves sternly against the terror organizations in Gaza.” |
| Palestinian leaders had expressed outrage over what they described as a purposeful “escalation” by the Israel military, citing the deaths of the three Gaza men Tuesday; the fatal shooting Monday morning of a Jordanian judge of Palestinian descent who the military said tried to seize a soldier’s weapon as he crossed the Allenby Bridge into the West Bank; and the killing of a teenager, Saji Darwish, 18, Monday evening near the Israeli settlement of Beit El. | Palestinian leaders had expressed outrage over what they described as a purposeful “escalation” by the Israel military, citing the deaths of the three Gaza men Tuesday; the fatal shooting Monday morning of a Jordanian judge of Palestinian descent who the military said tried to seize a soldier’s weapon as he crossed the Allenby Bridge into the West Bank; and the killing of a teenager, Saji Darwish, 18, Monday evening near the Israeli settlement of Beit El. |
| “Israel is intentionally working to generate a culture of violence,” Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said in a statement before the rocket fire Wednesday. “Such incessant and unaddressed crimes will plunge the entire region into great instability and violence.” | “Israel is intentionally working to generate a culture of violence,” Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said in a statement before the rocket fire Wednesday. “Such incessant and unaddressed crimes will plunge the entire region into great instability and violence.” |
| After a meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, who is also chairman of the P.L.O., the executive committee released a statement expressing its “utmost opposition” to extending the American-led peace talks with Israel beyond their April 29 expiration date. Mr. Abbas is scheduled to meet with President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday in Washington. | After a meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, who is also chairman of the P.L.O., the executive committee released a statement expressing its “utmost opposition” to extending the American-led peace talks with Israel beyond their April 29 expiration date. Mr. Abbas is scheduled to meet with President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday in Washington. |
| Adel Ramer, a teacher who lives on another Israeli kibbutz east of Gaza, said she had been hearing thunder all day Wednesday, in an unseasonable rainstorm, “so we’ve been hearing booms, but then we heard something that was definitely not thunder.” | Adel Ramer, a teacher who lives on another Israeli kibbutz east of Gaza, said she had been hearing thunder all day Wednesday, in an unseasonable rainstorm, “so we’ve been hearing booms, but then we heard something that was definitely not thunder.” |
| Ms. Ramer, 59, said she was about to take her two mutts, Nikki and Nala, out for a walk when the barrage began. | Ms. Ramer, 59, said she was about to take her two mutts, Nikki and Nala, out for a walk when the barrage began. |
| “We’re always waiting for the other shoe to fall, it’s always something that’s sort of hovering, you know,” Ms. Ramer said of her community. “We always take into account that it can ignite any minute and suddenly — like it just did.” | “We’re always waiting for the other shoe to fall, it’s always something that’s sort of hovering, you know,” Ms. Ramer said of her community. “We always take into account that it can ignite any minute and suddenly — like it just did.” |