Dror Hanin, who succumbed to his wounds after being injured by Gaza mortar fire on the Erez Crossing on Tuesday evening, was a 37-year-old father of three from Beit Aryeh. The incident marks the first Israeli death since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge.
Itzik Cohen, a childhood friend and neighbor, said he was "full of humor and always ready to help, there are few people like him, always willing to help and to contribute. Unfortunately, he paid for his kind heart with his life."
Hanin arrived at the border crossing to distribute food and drinks to soldiers awaiting a possible ground invasion into the Strip. He was critically injured and evacuated to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, before succumbing to his wounds.
A 45-year-old male was also injured by the shrapnel from the mortar round, sustaining light injuries.
The barrage on the border crossing occurred three hours after Israeli officially declared the unilateral ceasefire attempt had failed. The mortar fire was part of a larger rocket salvo launched around 7 pm, which included dozens of rockets fired on Gaza border communities, Negev towns, and the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
Iron Dome intercepted two rockets over the skies of Tel Aviv. Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed joint responsibility for four M-75 rockets fire on Tel Aviv.
Iron Dome intercepted two rockets launched from Gaza over the skies of Ashkelon and one over Netivot, as Code Red sirens blared in Netivot, Ashkelon, Sderot and the Eshkol, Sha'ar HaNegev, Sdot Negev and Hof Ashkelon Regional Councils after 5 pm on Tuesday.
Even though Israel had accepted the Egyptian truce proposal and held its fire, Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip continued firing at Israel on Tuesday morning. An hour after the ceasefire came into effect, three rockets landed in the Eshkol Regional Council.
At 12:30pm, rocket alert sirens blared in Yavne and Rehovot, and in the Karmel outskirts - Zikhron Ya'akov, Yokneam, Mishmar HaEmek, Daliyat al-Karmel and other communities in the area. Hamas claimed to have fired an R-160 long-range rocket at Zikhron Ya'akov.
The Eshkol Regional Council was hit with one rocket at 11:46am, three at 12:20pm and two more at around 12:30pm. Two rockets were fired at Netivot at around 12:15pm, and might have been intercepted.
At around 11:20 am, Code Red sirens blared through Ashkelon, Sderot, Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, Ashdod, Kiryat Malachi and the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. Rockets exploded in the yard of an Ashdod house causing damage to the structure, and in Sha'ar HaNegev, causing damage to a chicken coop. Several people were treated for shock in Ashdod. Hamas claimed responsibility for the rocket fire to Ashdod. The Iron Dome intercepted at least 6 rockets in this barrage.