The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued to pound Palestinian terrorist organizations inside Gaza late on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning in response to thousands of rockets that have been fired at Israel from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
The IDF has launched operation “Guardian of the Walls” in response to hundreds of rockets fired from inside Gaza at Israel. Palestinian terrorists have fired more than 3,750 rockets at Israeli territory with approximately 550 falling inside Gaza. The IDF says that its Iron Dome still has an approximately 90% success rate at intercepting rockets fired at Israel.
The IDF gave the following updates from operation “Guardian of the Walls,” which began last week:
- IDF strikes command and control centers located in the residences of 12 senior Hamas commanders in the Gaza Strip, used for terror purposes, over the past 24 hours
- IDF fighter jets struck command and control centers located within the residences of three additional Hamas commanders in the Gaza Strip: the residence of the Deputy Commander of the Hamas Northern Brigade in Gaza City, Rafa Salman, the residence of a company commander in a Hamas reinforcement battalion in Khan Yunis and the residence of an additional company commander in a Hamas reinforcement battalion in Daraj Tufah.
The IDF’s round five of airstrikes against Hamas’s terror tunnels included 52 fighter jets dropping 120 precision bombs onto 40 underground targets over the span of approximately half an hour.
IDF releases a video of overnight strikes toward the Hamas internal tunnel system. Round 5 against "the metro" included 40 underground sites, using 120 munitions, with 52 jets, in 25 minutes, the military says. pic.twitter.com/2dQoNabeXB
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 19, 2021
IDF says it struck a military compound of Hamas' Technological Department in Jabalia. pic.twitter.com/EgnwLeDmMO
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 19, 2021
IDF releases footage of strikes overnight toward a number of Hamas assets across the Gaza Strip pic.twitter.com/OTHvEBTzGf
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 19, 2021
An IDF airstrike Wednesday morning on Khan Yunis. #Gaza #Israel pic.twitter.com/XvWnf6rY8W
— Joe Truzman (@Jtruzmah) May 19, 2021
See it with your own eyes: Hamas turned a civilian structure in Gaza into a rocket launch site ready to fire rockets at Israel.
Under intl. law, a civilian structure used for military purposes is a legitimate military target.
We gave civilians time to evacuate, and then… pic.twitter.com/YJmPMv5Hnr
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 19, 2021
An IDF airstrike demolishes a structure Wednesday morning in Deir al-Balah. #Gaza #Israel pic.twitter.com/niPwR3Q60Z
— Joe Truzman (@Jtruzmah) May 19, 2021
An IDF airstrike in Deir al-Balah a short time ago. #Israel #Gaza pic.twitter.com/k5UX8DBtYZ
— Joe Truzman (@Jtruzmah) May 19, 2021
Reports on Wednesday indicated that the number of terrorist rocket attacks launched against Israel have decreased in recent days after the IDF has killed hundreds of terrorists, destroyed miles of terror tunnels, and eliminated numerous rocket launchers and launch sites and other assets.
We're tracking rocket fire from #Gaza based on @IDF figures.
Right now we're in one of the quietest periods last Thursday. Rocket fire is down about 80% from the weekend. pic.twitter.com/mI687FecMa
— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) May 19, 2021
The Biden administration recently green-lighted the sale of $735 million in precision munitions to Israel which sparked objections from some Democrats.
In its most recent bi-monthly tracker, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a non-partisan research firm, gave the Biden administration positive marks for how it has responded to the situation with Israel after previously giving the administration negative marks:
After initially expressing concern about Israel’s judicial ruling in a property dispute in eastern Jerusalem, the administration’s tone shifted on May 10, when State Department spokesman Ned Price called Hamas rocket attacks against Israel an “unacceptable escalation.” On May 12, President Biden phoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and expressed his support for Israel’s “legitimate right” to defend itself. Secretary Blinken emphasized Israel’s “extra burden” to avoid civilian casualties, but also stressed the “very clear and absolute distinction between a terrorist organization, Hamas, that is indiscriminately raining down rockets… targeting civilians, and Israel’s response defending itself.” Last week, the United States prevented the UN Security Council from releasing a joint statement against Israel. The State Department also dismissed Human Rights Watch’s allegations that Israel is guilty of apartheid. On May 3, the State Department announced it will eschew “any events” commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Durban Conference on racism, which was marred by rampant antisemitism and helped launch the anti-Israel boycott campaign. Concerns in Israel linger, however, about America’s imminent return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. That return will inevitably involve sanctions relief and other financial benefits for Iran. These funds will then flow to anti-Israel terrorist groups. And Jerusalem remains skeptical that the nuclear deal will halt the Islamic Republic’s nuclear aspirations.
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Source: Dailywire