Israel Fires Artillery At Gaza, Palestinian Rocket Attack Continues

JAKARTA - Israel is firing artillery and carrying out more airstrikes against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, while rocket fire continues deep in Israel's central trade area.

As hostilities entered the fifth day with no sign of easing, the Israeli military said in a statement --shortly after midnight -- that air and ground forces were attacking Hamas-run enclaves. Rocket attacks from Gaza quickly followed.

Although the statement gave no further details, Israeli military reporters briefed regularly by the armed forces said the attack was not a ground invasion. They also said military forces fired artillery from the Israeli side of the border.

Brigadier General Hidai Zilberman, Israel's chief military spokesman, said the attack on the Palestinian militant group's rocket production and its launch sites had "disrupted Hamas movement" but had not yet reached a stopping point.

He said between 80 and 90 militiamen were killed in the Israeli attack.

Zilberman said Israel was "building troops on the Gaza border", a deployment that has led to speculation about a possible ground invasion. The move will be reminiscent of similar attacks during the Israel-Gaza wars in 2014 and 2009.

Israeli military reporters, meanwhile, said that a massive ground attack was unlikely to happen because it carried the risk that many casualties would fall.

Hamas armed wing spokesman Abu Ubaida, responded to the addition of Israeli troops by showing a defiant stance. He called on Palestinians to rise.

"Attack as you please, from the sea, land, and air. We are ready to die in any way that will make you curse yourself", he told Reuters on Friday, May 14.

So far, about 1,750 rockets have been fired into Israel, 300 of which failed and crashed in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said.

Residents of northern Gaza, near the Israeli border, said they saw no sign of Israeli ground troops inside the enclave but reported heavy artillery fire and dozens of airstrikes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, May 13, the attack "will take more time".

Israeli officials say Hamas, the most powerful militant group in Gaza, should take a strong hit before the ceasefire.

The sound of artillery fire and explosions echoed in the northern and eastern parts of Gaza until Friday morning. Eyewitnesses said many families living in areas near the border were out of their homes, some seeking refuge in United Nations-run schools.

Violence is also spreading to mixed Jewish and Arab communities in Israel, a new front in the protracted conflict. Synagogues were attacked and clashes broke out in the streets of several cities, prompting the Israeli president to warn against civil war.

At least 109 people were killed in Gaza, including 29 children, over the previous four days, Palestinian medical officials said.

On Thursday alone, 52 Palestinians were killed in the enclave, the highest number in a single day since Monday, May 10.

Seven people were killed in Israel, including a soldier patrolling the Gaza border, five Israeli civilians, including two children, and an Indian worker, Israeli authorities said.

The Palestinian militant group fired salvo rockets into Tel Aviv and surrounding cities on Thursday. The Iron Dome antimissile team intercepted many of the rockets.

Netanyahu said Israel had attacked nearly 1,000 militia targets in the region.

"We are facing Israel and COVID-19. We are between two enemies", said Assad Karam (20), a construction worker who was next to a Gaza road damaged by Israeli airstrikes.

In Tel Aviv, Yishai Levy, an Israeli singer, pointed to shrapnel falling on the sidewalk outside his home.

"I want to tell the Israeli army and the government, don't stop until you finish the task", he said on YNet television.

Israel launched its attacks after Hamas fired rockets into Jerusalem and Tel Aviv --in retaliation for clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians near the Al Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem during Ramadan.