IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz
Photo: Yoav Zitun
Gantz on escalation: It's not over until it's over
IDF data reveals that over 222 rockets were fired in most recent escalation as chief of staff comments on truce claiming ‘quiet will be met with quiet’
Data from the most recent bout of escalation in southern Israel which ended on Tuesday morning when an Egypt brokered ceasefire came into effect revealed that some 222 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip over the last four days, the Iron Dome system logged 56 successful interceptions and the IDF carried out 37 strikes within the Gaza Strip.
Speaking to new IDF recruits on Tuesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz said: “We are still following the situation in the south and we need to see how it develops and whether the (rocket) firing really stops. It’s not over until it’s over. Quiet will be answered with quiet, and fire will be answered with fire.”
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The IDF Spokesman’s Office noted that on Monday night three rockets were fired on southern Israel. The last one was launched at 7:45 am and exploded in the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damages were reported in any on Monday night’s attacks.
Since the targeted assassination of the Popular Resistance Committee chief Zuhir al-Qaisi on Friday, some 166 rockets were fired into Israel’s territory.
Meanwhile, the IDF carried out 37 strikes against targets within the Gaza Strip, including attacks on munitions warehouses and missile launch sites. Some 26 Palestinians were killed in the strikes - the majority of which were terrorists, 14 from the Islamic Jihad.
According to Gantz “22 (of the Palestinians killed) were enemy forces, but sadly four civilians who were not involved in the clashes and were nearby were killed.
“We have made and continue to make every effort to hit the necessary targets but we will go as far as humanly possible to protect our citizens.”
Palestinians claimed that four civilians were among the dead and that 80 people were wounded in the strikes.
Egypt and the Islamic Jihad announced that the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians came into effect at 1 am and that Israel committed to “end the targeted assassinations.”
Throughout the recent escalation, Magen David Adom teams continued to offer their services throughout the country and especially in the south where it increased manpower.
Since the beginning of the escalation, the MDA teams provided medical care to 40 casualties. On Friday three foreign workers from the Eshkol Regional Council were injured by shrapnel from a mortar shell. Two sustained serious injuries while the third was lightly wounded.
On Monday an 80 year-old woman sustained a head injury and two people were wounded by shattered glass when a Grad missile exploded in Ashdod.
A resident of a building adjacent to the site suffered from a heart attack due to shock. She received medical care and was evacuated by Magen David Adom to receive additional medical care. During the recent escalation, some 25 people who suffered from shock received MDA care while an additional nine people were wounded while attempting to seek shelter during the attacks.
Elior Levy contributed to the report
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