Palestinian terrorists fired on Israeli communities repeatedly after 1 p.m. on Wednesday as Israel continued Operation Shield and Arrow against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad over its repeated rocket fire on Israel. Many communities near the Gaza border were targeted by incoming rockets from Gaza, prompting sirens to be activated in multiple communities, including in Ashkelon, Rishon LeZion, and ultimately as far north as Tel Aviv at around 2 p.m.. More than 100 rockets were fired on Israel in that salvo. Toward afternoon, rocket fire stopped, although Israelis by and large remained alert and authorities instructed residents to take precautions. They also canceled events and restricted gatherings, including in Tel Aviv, where the city told parents to pick up their kids from school.
Video: Reuters
Around noon, Israel's air force hit Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza as Israelis braced for a response from the enclaves' Hamas rulers over the Israeli counterterrorism operation that began on Tuesday. The military said it had hit rocket launch sites belonging to the group, as a series of blasts rocked different points including what witnesses described as a training camp in the northern part of the Gaza Strip and an open area in the south.
Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
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The Israeli airstrikes came a day after the military launched a series of strikes it said were aimed at senior leaders of Islamic Jihad responsible for planning attacks against Israel. "We have no intention of waiting until they launch (rockets)," Israeli security cabinet minister Avi Dichter told Kan radio. "If launches can be prevented or disrupted, if launch crews can be hit – all of this ultimately creates deterrence."
Dawoud Shehab, an Islamic Jihad spokesperson, said the group would inevitably retaliate and the delay was "tactical". "The resistance decides the timing of the response in line with its tactics and calculations because we see that the response must match the size of the crime," he said.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has instructed residents of southern communities to remain near bomb shelters, and schools were still closed for a second day as a precaution against attacks by Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip. In Gaza, businesses and schools remained closed, and Israel kept its two commercial and people crossings with Gaza closed.
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