An Israeli Kindergarten has come under attack from mortar shells fired by Hamas from the Palestinian-controlled Gaza strip. The latest incident of attacks on Israel was not widely reported in the media even though it was the largest number of missiles and mortars fired on Israel from the coastal strip since the 2014 war between Israel and the terrorist-controlled Gaza.
It was one of at least 28 mortar shells were fired from Gaza into southern Israel. The school received moderate damage and occurred just minutes before the first students were set to be dropped off for the day by their parents and the arrival of morning session busses.
Most of the shells fired in three barrages on Tuesday morning were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Code Red warning sirens were heard throughout communities in southern Israel when the shells were fired.
Later on Tuesday afternoon the Code Red warning system activated again in several communities.
The attack from Gaza reportedly has been linked to the death of three Islamic Hamas Jihad operatives who were killed when the Israeli military fired on a Hamas outpost in response to a bomb placed near the border fence between Israel and Gaza in an effort to blow up Israeli patrols.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of the Islamic Jihad terror group, vowed revenge. “We will not relent in our duty towards the blood of those killed and know how we’ll react to this serious escalation,” the group said in a statement.
The IDF said in a statement that it was “operating in the Gaza Strip” in response to the shelling, though it did not give details.
Hamas, which recently forced civilians to breach the Israeli border to attract world attention, is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union. It controls the Gaza area of the Palestinian Territories.
