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The IDF carried out a pair of air raids in Gaza after midnight local time on Thursday in response to rocket fire and anti-aircraft missiles launched from the Hamas-run enclave during the tensest night in the Strip since last May’s 11-day war that was initiated by the terrorist organization.
During the exchange, the IDF said its Iron Dome missile defense system mistook gunshots for a salvo of rockets. By night’s end, the army confirmed that only one rocket had in fact been fired into Israel.
That launch took place at around 10:30 pm local time on Wednesday night, with shrapnel from the rocket striking a parked car and a wall near a home in the southern city of Sderot. Hundreds of ball bearings that were loaded into the rocket were found at the scene.
More footage of Iron Dome interceptions over Sderot pic.twitter.com/MP1RcxbScJ
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 20, 2022
Less than three hours later, the IDF said it responded with airstrikes in central Gaza targeting a military post as well as a tunnel complex “containing raw chemicals used for the manufacturing of rocket engines.” The IDF claimed its strike marked a significant blow to the rocket production process in Gaza.
For the second time this week, the army said that Hamas targeted its jets with anti-aircraft missiles during the raid. In response, the IDF said it launched a subsequent raid targeting a compound used by Hamas’ air defense force.
No Israelis were directly injured by the rocket fire earlier in the night, but three people were lightly wounded in falls that took place while running to bomb shelters. All of them were evacuated to Ashkelon’s Barzilai Medical Center for further treatment before being released shortly thereafter.
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Iranian intelligence claimed that it caught three Mossad spies in the Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeast Iran near the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.
The three were involved in “disseminating classified information and documents,” according to the report.
According to Iranian news agency IRNA, more details about the case will be released at a later date.
In March, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry in West Azerbaijan claimed that it caught an Israeli spy network in Iran, according to IRNA.
The ministry claimed that the spy network was trying to carry out acts of sabotage inside Iran by hiring locals. The ministry added that “those who threaten the security of the people and society must either die, be injured or surrender to the law.”
In July of last year, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry claimed that it had arrested a network of Mossad agents, and seized a heavy shipment of weapons and ammunition after they entered Iran through its western border, according to Fars News Agency.
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The indoor mask mandate is to be lifted on April 23, pending approval by the Knesset Health Committee, Israel’s prime minister and health minister announced in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The decision was made by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz in light of the recent decline in COVID-19 cases, the statement said.
However, the mask mandate will remain in force for locations with high potential for infection: hospitals, Magen Avot institutions for the elderly, airline flights and for people on their way to quarantine.
Since masking rules were first imposed in April 2020, Israelis have been required to wear face coverings indoors for all but 10 days in June last year, when the mandate was briefly lifted before being swiftly brought back amid burgeoning cases at the time.
“We got through Pharaoh and the Omicron [variant],” Bennett tweeted, paraphrasing a Passover-themed Hebrew phrase denoting sturdiness.
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Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Wednesday authorized the supply of helmets and vests to Ukrainian rescue services after speaking with his Ukrainian counterpart, signaling a shift in Israel’s position on providing such equipment.
A mediator in the Ukraine-Russia crisis, Israel has condemned the Russian invasion but has limited itself to humanitarian relief. Jerusalem has been wary of straining relations with Moscow, a powerbroker in neighboring Syria where Israel coordinates strikes against Iranian deployments.
Both the Israeli and Ukrainian officials stressed that the shipment is meant for rescue services and civilian organizations.
Recommended Reading
- Has Temple Mount Caused a New Rift in Jordan-Israeli Ties? (Tovah Lazaroff, Jerusalem Post)
- The West Should Look to Israel and Its Democratic Partners for Its Energy Needs (Dore Gold, Jewish News Syndicate)
- SJP Forum Hypes Palestinian ‘Genocide’ While Advocating for Israel’s Elimination (Steven Emerson, Algemeiner)
- A Short History of Coexistence in Shimon Hatzadik (Nadav Shragai, Israel Hayom)
- Venice’s Frayed, Shrinking 500-Year-Old Jewish Ghetto Is Planning a Renaissance (Orge Castellano, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
