BICOM

One Israeli soldier and one civilian were killed in Israel yesterday as over 200 rockets landed in Israel on the seventh day of Operation Pillar of Defence.  Analysts have noted that militants are increasingly firing multiple rockets simultaneously in attempts to overwhelm the Iron Dome defence system and increase casualties.

Corporal Yosef Partuk, an 18-year-old soldier, was killed when a barrage of rockets hit the kibbutz where he was stationed in the Eshkol regional council. In a separate incident, civilian Elian Salam Id Alanbary, a contractor working for the Defense Ministry was killed in the same region by a projectile fired from Gaza. Another civilian was seriously injured and 15 soldiers were lightly hurt in the same strike.

Heavy rocket fire continued to target Israel throughout Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning. On Tuesday a Fajr 5 missile hit the top floor of a seven story residential building in the central Israeli town of Rishon LeZion, causing considerable damage. Residents inside the apartments emerged with light injuries rooms having taken shelter in their apartments’ safe rooms. A similar rocket set sirens off in Jerusalem for the second time in the conflict, with a rocket landing south of the city.

‪Sirens were also heard this morning in Sderot, Shaar Hanegev, Kiryat Malachi and Gan Yavne where 10 rockets landed in open areas. The Iron Dome intercepted a rocket over Ashkelon and later destroyed two rockets over Be’er Tuviya.