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150 Rockets Rain Down On Israel As Revenge For Palestinian Leader’s Death

Missile of Israel and Palestine on flags background

Via Shutterstock/andriano.cz

Hannah Grossman Contributor
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A sleeping senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad field commander, Baha Abu al-Ata, was killed on Tuesday by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) responded to the airstrike, which also killed Ata’s wife, with over 150 indiscriminate attacks into Israel proper.

Rockets have so far caused 39 injuries to Israeli civilians. 90% of the missiles were intercepted by Israel’s defense system called the Iron Dome.

According to the IDF, the purpose of the strike against al-Ata was to preempt imminent attacks from PIJ, the second-largest militant group in Gaza. PIJ was planning on creeping through a terror tunnel in between the Israel-Gaza border to attack Israeli soldiers with anti-tank missiles, according to Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst.

Israel has responded to the ongoing missile attacks from Gaza by targeting more terrorist hotspots. So far, 7 Palestinians have been killed. This number includes targets from Islamic Jihad. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Terrorists think they can hit civilians and hide behind civilians. We showed that we can hit the terrorist with minimal damage to civilians. Anyone who thinks they can hit our civilians and get away with it is wrong. If you hit us we will hit you.” (RELATED: UN Israeli Ambassador Says Palestine’s Refusal To Surrender For Peace Deal Is About ‘Destroying Israel’)

When a rocket alarm sounds off Israelis have 15 seconds to find cover or a shelter. Since 2010, vulnerable neighborhoods in Israel have received funding from the government to build shelters in their homes. Many families, especially those with young children, stay in the shelters all day and sleep there during the night.

At 6:30 a.m. this morning (Israeli time) Dov Trachman, a student at Ben Gurion University, was awoken to a sound that warned him that missiles were being fired. Trachman immediately ran to the shelter located in his home. (RELATED: Omar Explains Stance On Israel-Palestine Conflict)

Later that day, when Trachman went to a local shop pick up supplies, another alarm went off. Trachman, another customer and the store-owner of “Timsit’s Shop” took cover away from the windows. “We were just like away from all the windows and glass so if there is a shockwave we won’t be injured by the shrapnel of the glass, if the glass breaks or something,” he said. The store-owner was open despite the danger because she could not afford to close her store. She just hoped and prayed to God that everything would be alright.

Sderot, the town in which Trachman resides, is one of the towns that had dozens of alarms go off on Tuesday. It is located approximately 1 mile from Gaza. Some residents have opted to move further north to avoid the danger of living near a terrorist enclave run by Iran-backed Hamas.

“I don’t want to move out because of this reason,” said Trachtman. “I don’t want to move because of the security situation because I think it is surrendering to someone who tries to bully you. And not just bully you, tries to make you fear for your life. [Terrorists] do that just because he either wants to destroy you and kill you. So if they’re trying to drive me out and kill me why would I surrender and make it more easy for them?” (RELATED: When Someone Tells You The Palestinian Protesters Were Peaceful And Unarmed, Show Them This)

Trachman said he was tired of the terrorist attacks. “It’s been almost two decades [of terrorism] now. In the recent two years we had seen many escalations, thousands of rockets. It’s time for Israel to protect its civilians. That’s the role of the state — to protect its civilians. Israel should do everything it can to make us safe, meaning they must take down the terrorist organizations.”