BICOM

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) bombed Hamas positions in Gaza on Wednesday morning after a missile hit a house in Beersheva.

Two missiles were fired from Gaza. One landed at 03:40 in the courtyard of a house in the southern city of Beersheva, 25 miles from Gaza. The missile was an upgraded Grad missile with a larger warhead. The explosion caused significant damage to the building but the family were able to reach their bomb shelter before the missile hit and were later treated for shock. Schools were closed in Beersheva and in the Eshkol region this morning as a precaution. This was only the second time a missile has been fired at Beersheva since the 2014 war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.

The Israeli army said that the second missile landed in the Mediterranean Sea and Army Radio reported that it landed in the sea near the greater Tel Aviv area. Hamas and the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad released a joint statement this morning condemning the attack and blaming it on rogue jihadist groups.

The IDF released a statement that said: “IDF fighter jets have started attacking terror targets in Gaza”. The IDF also fired at a group of Palestinians attempting to fire a missile into Israel from the northern Gaza Strip, triggering sirens in nearby Israeli communities. One Palestinian named as Naji Ahmed Za’anin, 25, was killed in the strikes, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman ordered that the two crossings between Gaza and Israel — Erez for pedestrians and Kerem Shalom for goods — remain closed on Wednesday. He also halved the size of the Gaza fishing zone to three nautical miles.

A security cabinet meeting scheduled for this afternoon has been cancelled but may be convened later. Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot cut short his visit to the US and will shortly return to Israel. On Sunday the security cabinet decided to wait until the end of the week before taking further action in Gaza in order to give an Egyptian delegation in Gaza a chance to persuade Hamas to reduce attacks on the border.