Mortar shell explodes in kindergarten yard

JERUSALEM – On Tuesday, May 29, as the Ledger went to press, dozens of mortar shells had been fired from Gaza on southern Israel, inluding one that exploded in the yard of a kindergarten shortly before students were set to arrive.

The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted most of the shells, according to the Israel Defense Forces. It was the largest number of projectiles fired on Israel from the coastal strip since the 2014 Gaza war.

According to Times of Israel, sirens blared in Israeli communities in the border region at least six times beginning around 3 p.m., sending residents fleeing for shelter. Sirens were heard as far away as Ashkelon, which lies dozens of kilometers from the Gaza Strip, indicating that the projectiles were longer range than the mortar fire shot earlier in the day. Sirens could also be heard in the communities of Kissufim, Nirim, and Ein Hashlosha.

According to a military spokesman, a total of 25 rockets had been knocked down by the Iron Dome missile defense system, though the tally was not official.

In response to the attack, Israeli planes pounded Gaza, hitting more than 30 terrorist positions, including a “terror” tunnel in Rafah. According to the IDF, the tunnel extended from Egypt through Gaza to Israel. The tunnel was still under construction and was not yet usable.

While only minor injuries were reported, the Red Alert warning sirens sent shockwaves through Israeli communities. In some, residents have just a few seconds after the siren goes off to find cover before the explosion is expected to occur.

Adele Raemer, a resident of Kibbutz Nirim, explained the immense pressure residents of border communities faced this morning when trying to find shelter during a missile attack.

“Our grandchildren have never heard the Red Alert before,” Raemer said. “I have a granddaughter who’s three years old, who was totally caught unaware… Her mother was on her own at home with the three-year-old and with a seven-month-old baby. When the Red Alert went off, she immediately threw herself on the floor…. Her mother had to try and figure out a way to get the baby and her three-year-old into the safe room at the same time, while she hears the Red Alerts going off, while she hears the explosions in the background.”

In response, the IDF said it struck more than 35 targets belonging to the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations in Gaza. Among the targets was a terror tunnel that stretched under the Kerem Shalom border crossing for humanitarian goods, as well as weapons storage sites, naval targets and a terrorist headquarters.

“Israel views with utmost gravity the attacks against it and its communities by Hamas and Islamic Jihad from the Gaza Strip,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in the hours following the attacks in an address to the Galilee Conference.

“The IDF will respond with great force to these attacks. Israel will exact a heavy price from anyone who tries to attack it, and we view Hamas as responsible for preventing such attacks against us.”

The attack from Gaza reportedly has been linked to the death of three Islamic Jihad operatives, who were killed early Sunday morning in a retaliatory strike by Israel on a Hamas outpost. The terrorist group had placed a bomb 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.

On Monday night, Palestinians used a machine gun to open fire from the Gaza Strip on the southern Israeli town of Sderot. The gunfire damaged several buildings and a car. It was the second attack on Sderot in two weeks.

“The IDF views this as a severe attack, and holds Hamas accountable for everything happening in and from the Gaza Strip. The IDF will continue to carry out its mission to protect Israeli civilians and is prepared for a wide variety of scenarios,” the IDF Spokesperson Unit said in a statement.

It also said that the projectiles fired at Israel on Tuesday were Iranian-made.

“The Palestinian Islamic Jihad is terrorist organization rooted in Iranian ideology,” according to the IDF Spokesperson Unit. “Today, they used Iranian-made weapons.”

CAP: The sites that the IDF targeted in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in response to mortar fire from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas terror groups. Credit: IDF Spokesperson Unit.