Rocket sirens were heard in the Jerusalem area on Sunday morning, marking the first occurrence of rockets fired at the Israeli capital by Gaza terrorists since Israel’s military operation began two days ago.
The siren was heard during a live broadcast of the Israeli version of the reality TV show Big Brother, which was shot in Neve Ilan, a community on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The live feed was cut short just as participants of the show took cover in the safe room of the house. Until that incident, participants were unaware of the flare-up.
The last rocket launched at Jerusalem was in May 2021, marking the start of an 11-day conflict between Israel and the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
Sunday also saw heightened tensions in the capital as Jewish pilgrims climbed the site of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, site of the two biblical temples, for fasting in Tisha B’av. Tisha B’av, which Jews celebrate from Saturday evening to Sunday evening, marks the anniversary of the destruction of the two temples in 586 BCE and 70 AD, respectively.
Terrorists from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group continued to fire dozens of rockets at Israeli communities around the border with Gaza.
יירוט כיפת ברזל מעל חדשות 12 ובית האח הגדול בנווה אילן @mako_feed
: pic.twitter.com/BLUsOE8RRx— Gil mishali גיל משעלי (@gilmishali) August 7, 2022
Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired more than 580 rockets at Israel in a 36-hour period. About 120 of those have failed and have fallen within the Strip, the IDF said.
The Iron Dome missile defense system has successfully intercepted 97 percent of the 220 missiles fired at civilian population centers. Rocket sirens blared in several Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, over the weekend, forcing Israelis to take cover in air raid shelters.
The flare-up began after the arrest of Bassam al-Sa’adi, the leader of the PIJ in the West Bank, who sought to avenge the terror group by attacking Israeli targets around the border with Gaza.
Missiles from Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system intercept and destroy rockets fired from the Gaza Strip on August 7, 2022, on the outskirts of the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. (JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
The Israeli Air Force has carried out numerous strikes in Gaza targeting the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group as part of Operation Breaking Dawn launched Friday to address what Israeli leaders say was an immediate and concrete threat posed by the PIJ to Israeli communities.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the aim of the latest campaign, called Operation Breaking Dawn, was “the elimination of a concrete threat”.
“Israel will continue to act without hesitation to ensure the peace of its citizens,” he said at a cabinet meeting on Saturday night.
Israel Friday night launched its Iron Dome batteries on rockets fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), an Iran-backed terror group in Gaza. https://t.co/u456Za1sC7
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) August 7, 2022
Earlier on Saturday, Israeli media said the IDF had killed Khalid Mansour, the head of the PIJ’s military wing in the southern Strip.
A day earlier, Israel assassinated senior PIJ commander Tayseer al-Jabari, the mastermind behind hundreds of rocket attacks during last year’s 11-day war in May.
Major General Oded Basyuk, Chief of the Operations Directorate of the Israel Defense Forces, told reporters on Saturday that “all top Islamic Jihad officials in the [Gaza] Strip have been murdered.”