Israeli aircraft struck Islamic Jihad positions in the Gaza Strip Tuesday in retaliation for a mortar barrage on Israel's south. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Palestinian sources said earlier that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have evacuated posts throughout Gaza, fearing an Israeli strike.
Terrorist fired over 27 mortar shells at communities in southern Israel on Tuesday morning in what appeared to be the largest single barrage fired since Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014.
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the salvo, saying it was in response to the death of three operatives in IDF shelling on Sunday.
"This is a blessed retaliation. Our people's blood is not cheap," Islamic Jihad spokesman Daoud Shihab said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a special Diplomatic-Security Cabinet meeting for Tuesday afternoon to discuss the security escalation on the southern border.
"We take the fire on Israel's south very seriously and the IDF will mount a forceful response," Netanyahu said. "We hold Hamas responsible. Israel will exact a heavy price from anyone who tries to harm it."
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman held a situation assessment in his office in Tel Aviv on Tuesday morning, where the heads of the defense establishment briefed him on recent developments.
A series of Color Red alerts sounded in the communities adjacent to the Gaza border between 7 and 9 a.m., sending local residents scrambling for shelter. With nearly zero distance from Gaza, they have between 15 and 30 seconds to find shelter once an alert sounds.
The military said the majority of the projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, with only a handful of mortars landing in open areas in the Eshkol and Shaar Hanegev regional councils.
A resident of Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha sustained minor injuries and one of the mortars landed near a kindergarten in the Eshkol Regional Council shortly before it opened. Anxious residents said the community narrowly escaped a tragedy.
Tensions on the Israel-Gaza Strip border have been steadily rising since Hamas, the terrorist group that controls the coastal enclave, launched a border riot campaign on March 30 in protest of a decadelong blockade on Gaza.
Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade after Hamas seized control of the Strip from its rival faction, Fatah, in 2007 in a military coup.
The IDF on Tuesday instructed the residents of the Gaza-vicinity communities to remain in close proximity to shelters, but local schools have been instructed to maintain their routine.
European Union Ambassador to Israel Emanuele Giaufret denounced the terrorist barrage.
"As kids were preparing for school this morning, a barrage of rockets from Gaza fell on southern Israel. One landed outside a kindergarten. I know the resilience of communities in southern Israel but indiscriminate attacks are totally unacceptable and to be condemned unreservedly," he tweeted.
"We woke up this morning to a substantial salvo at our communities, which was fired just as our children were headed to school, so we temporarily stopped all school buses," Eshkol Regional Council head Gadi Yarkoni said.
"After consulting with the IDF, it was decided to resume the school day throughout the council's communities. Our teachers are experienced, and with the help of other professional elements, we are prepared to offer the children any support they may need.
"We are maintaining constant contact with the IDF and we're closely monitoring any development," he said.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid tweeted, "The attack on the Gaza region will not go unanswered. The IDF will respond with the necessary force. I expect to hear clear condemnations from across the world of this attack on a civilian population. Our hearts are with the residents of the south."
Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay tweeted, "While we cannot tolerate this and must respond to any violation of Israeli sovereignty, we must also spare no effort to avoid the next round [of hostilities in Gaza]. That is our challenge and that is our mission.
"On a day when a mortar shell explodes outside a kindergarten, it underscores our commitment to protect the area's residents, who are resilient and are an invaluable part of our national strength," he wrote.
Former Defense Minister Amir Peretz (Zionist Union) said, "This morning's mortar barrage represents a security escalation the likes of which we have not seen since Operation Protective Edge. The IDF must react forcibly, even more than before. Regardless of whether this was Hamas or Islamic Jihad – Hamas is the sovereign in Gaza and it must be held accountable."
