BICOM

Towns in southern and south-central Israel remain on high alert today after a weekend of rocket and mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip. A fragile ceasefire mediated by Egypt was declared yesterday evening, yet sporadic attacks continued throughout the night. A rocket was fired in the Eshkol regional council area, and two Qassams exploded south of Ashkelon. The Israeli Air Force, meanwhile, overnight targeted an Islamic Jihad site in southern Gaza. Two operatives of the al-Ahrar organisation, a splinter group of former Fatah members, were killed in the air strike on Gaza, according to Israeli media reports this morning. A statement later issued by the organisation vowed to avenge the deaths. Islamic Jihad also issued a statement yesterday evening, stating that it agreed to a renewed ceasefire, while reserving the right to respond to further Israeli strikes. It therefore appears that despite Egyptian mediation efforts, the current escalation may not yet be over, though the intensity of the rocket attacks has declined over the last 12 hours.

Despite intermittent rocket fire Sunday evening, IDF officials estimated that the current round of violence was at an end. IDF Home Front Command gave permission for schools in southern communities to operate as normal today. A ban on large crowds gathering in open spaces was also lifted. A number of southern communities, including Ashkelon and Gan Yavne, decided that schools would nevertheless remain closed for the moment.

On Saturday Ami Moshe, a 50-year-old resident of Ashkelon, was killed by shrapnel from a Grad attack on Ashkelon. Moshe, a father of four, was buried in Ashkelon on Sunday. Five other Israelis were wounded in the course of the attacks. Israel responded and targeted an Islamic Jihad cell in the Gaza Strip, killing nine members of the organisation. Among the dead were Ahmed al-Sheikh Khalil, a senior area commander of the group. The IDF Spokesman’s Unit issued a statement saying that rocket launching sites and tunnel networks had been hit by Israeli aircrafts.

In total, 30 rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israeli communities from Gaza over the weekend.