Terrorist missiles hit Eilat

‘Yesterday we celebrated Independence Day and this morning we received a painful reminder of the reality in which we exist’

Wednesday, April 17, 2013  Israel Today Staff

Two missiles slammed into the southern Israel resort town of Eilat early Wednesday morning, causing damage to a residential area, but, miraculously, no injuries.

Area children, who had only recently arrived for school, were rushed to bomb shelters.

Israeli forces said the missiles were fired from the Sinai Peninsula, where various regional terrorist groups including Hezbollah and Al Qaeda are known to have set up shop in recent years.

Egypt initially rejected reports that the attack had emanated from Sinai, but later Egyptian forces began searching the area for possible launch sites.

Israeli Water and Energy Minister Silvan Shalom spoke for the government when he issued the following statement:

“Yesterday we celebrated Independence Day and this morning we received a painful reminder of the reality in which we exist. The shooting highlights our need to protect ourselves and not put our fate in the hands of others.”

Later in the day a Salafi Muslim group calling itself the Mujahedeen Shura Council claimed credit for the attack, announcing on its website that its fighters had managed to “target occupied Eilat with two Grad rockets.”

 

Direct Missile Alarm — Straight to Your Phone

The threat of rocket attacks have always been a part of Israeli history. Since the first massive missile strike against Israel during the Gulf War in 1991, Israelis live under a constant threat of rocket attack.

Since 2001, nearly 13,000 rockets and mortars, an average of 3 attacks every single day, hit Israel, having been fired from Gaza. Since 1951, Israeli law has insisted that all residential or commercial properties be fitted with shelters. The IDF Home Front Command makes sure that Israelis have as much time as possible to find cover before a rocket hits — and recently, a new invention has changed the playing field of alarm systems.

Beginning last week, subscribers to major Israeli cell phone networks received a a text message in Hebrew, Arabic, English and Russian: “The Home Front Command, checking cellular alert system,” followed by a serial number.

Israel has one of the highest percentages of cell phone penetration in the world. (Photo: Nir Kafri)

 

It was the first public test of the IDF’s new “Personal Message” early-warning text message alert system.

Developed for the IDF’s Home Front Command by eVigilo and Ericsson, the alert system will deliver location-specific warnings based on the trajectory of a rocket or missile. The text messages are intended to supplement the air raid signals that have been in place across the country for decades and will operate in conjunction with the IDF’s Iron Dome defense system.

“Personal Message”, together with the “Iron Dome” system, are just a few of the ways the IDF protects Israel’s citizens from rocket attacks.

 

The IDF has been testing the system for several months in order to see if it has any vulnerabilities to hackers. “If someone hacked the system and could stop it from operating in an emergency or the reverse – operate it incessantly – it could be very dangerous,” a Home Front Command officer said. “We must be immune to such hazards.”

The system’s goal will be to help save lives in case of emergencies by giving Israelis as much time as possible to locate the closest bomb shelter.

If you found this post interesting, find out more about The Iron Dome or the daily threats facing Israelis. For live updates, check out our Twitter account, or visit the official website.

 

Missile Strikes Empty School in Be’er Sheva

By:  Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  A/ News

A terrorist missile from Gaza struck the courtyard of an empty school in Be’er Sheva Sunday afternoon. Another rocket damaged 15 houses. The city’s order to close all schools saved possible mass casualties.

More than 25 missiles were fired on southern Israel Sunday, several of them intercepted by the Iron Dome system, which automatically weeds out missiles that are aimed at open areas, but is not foolproof;.

The rocket attack on Be’er Sheva was not intercepted and caused widespread property damage as well as sending several people into shock.

A Be’er Sheva police officer said that if one of the missiles had exploded a few feet to the right or left of its impact site in a residential area, it would have directly hit an apartment building.

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz reassured Israel that it “will continue to retaliate with force and sensitivity against any firing directed at Israel. Hamas and other terror groups continue to gain strength at an alarming rate. We do not seek escalation, but Hamas controls Gaza.”

Rockets also exploded in open areas in the western Negev, between Be’er Sheva and Ashkelon.

The IDF noted that all but one of the more than a dozen people killed in counterterrorist measures were terrorists.

 

IDF gearing up to invade Gaza

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 | Ryan Jones – israeltoday

Army officials say this time they must act before Gaza terrorists manage to kill anyone in southern Israel; this time, the goal will be to topple Hamas

Israeli media this week reported that the IDF is gearing up for another large-scale ground incursion into the Gaza Strip to halt terrorist rocket fire and curb the threat posed by groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The Jerusalem Post reported last month that the IDF General Staff had ordered the Southern Command to draw up plans for a Gaza incursion. Over the weekend, the paper revealed that a growing number of senior officers in the Southern Command are now pushing for the order to be given to begin the attack.

One officer argued that, unlike in the past, “there is no need to wait for a provocation to launch an offensive against the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza. The ongoing attacks…are cumulatively more than enough to justify immediate action.”

Israel’s government and the army were harshly criticized in the past for waiting until after Gaza terrorists managed to kill or wound enough Israelis before launching a significant retaliation.

Thirty rockets and medium-range missiles have been fired from Gaza into southern Israel during the first two months of 2012. In 2011, there were 680 rocket and mortar attacks, including 80 firings of medium-range Grad-type missiles. Casualties were minimal, but the constant attacks have had the effect of putting southern Israel under siege.

When a Grad-type missile landed in the outskirts of the southern city of Beersheva last week, IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Benny Gantz said it was only a “matter of time” before the Israeli army would have to reenter Gaza.

The IsraelDefense website reported that according to its sources in the defense establishment, the army will not follow the outline of its 2008 invasion of Gaza, Operation Cast Lead. This time, the IDF is likely to divide Gaza into three segments, possibly establish a permanent presence along the Gaza-Egypt border, and topple the ruling Hamas regime.

In other news signalling that a fresh Gaza war is on the horizon, the IDF last week sped up plans to deploy anti-missile systems near Tel Aviv. Intelligence suggests that Gaza-based terrorists now possess missiles capable of reaching the densely-populated metropolitan area.