Update: Israel Continues To Batter Hamas, Rockets Continue To Rain Down, Local Riots Subdued

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The Guardian of the Walls operation entered its second week Monday after Hamas continued to rain missiles on targets in Israel. The IDF reported Monday morning that over 3,150 missiles had been fired towards Israel, of which 460 fell in Gaza. The Iron Dome Air Defense System has an intercept rate of approximately 90%.

On Monday afternoon, IDF fighter jets eliminated Hasam Abu Harbid, Commander of the Northern Division of the Islamic Jihad. Abu Harbid was a commander in the organization for over 15 years and was behind several anti-tank missile terror attacks against Israeli civilians, including the attack from the first day of the operation, in which a civilian was injured. Additionally, he has consistently led rocket launches against Israel, as well as shooting attacks at IDF soldiers.

On the same day, Israeli naval troops spotted suspicious activity in the Northern Gaza Strip, nearby assets of the Hamas’ naval forces. Using IAF aircraft surveillance and naval capabilities, several enemy suspects were spotted with a vessel, suspected of being a Hamas submergible naval weapon. The vessel was being taken to the shore and appeared to be on its way to carry out a terror attack in Israeli waters. An IDF naval vessel and an aircraft targeted the operators and the weapon in order to remove the threat.

On Tuesday morning, IDF fighter jets and aircraft identified and struck nine underground and above-ground rocket launch sites in the Gaza Strip. During the afternoon IDF aircraft struck an Islamic Jihad terror squad in the central Gaza Strip. The squad was struck while preparing to launch rockets towards Israeli territory.

Rocket attacks continued sporadically throughout the festival, but no serious injuries or damage were reported. However on Tuesday afternoon two Thai workers were killed in a rocket attack in the Western Negev, bringing to 12 the number of people killed by rockets since the beginning of the operation.

On the local Israeli scene, Israeli police have arrested over 900 local Arab hooligans who had targeted shuls and property in mixed Jewish Arab cities in Israel. Despite attempts to portray Jews as attacking Arabs and their property, the riots predominantly demonstrated police ineffectiveness in the wake of attacks on Jews and Jewish property.

On Monday night, 56-year-old Yigal Yehoshua died as a result of being stoned in his car by Israeli Arab terrorists in Lod last week. A number of other Jews are still in hospital after attacks by local Arabs in the past week,including a 37-year-old Akko schoolteacher still in serious condition.

In the current riots, 10 shuls have been burnt, 112 Jewish homes set on fire, 386 Jewish homes looted, 673 homes damaged, 849 Jewish cars burnt and over 5000 stonethrowing incidents reported on Jews. At the same time, not one mosque was reported damaged by Jews, despite the fact that police found 28 mosques in which petrols bombs and stones were stockpiled. 1 Arab house was burnt by Arabs who mistook it for a Jewish house. A 12-year-old Arab boy was seriously injured in the incident. Not one Arab home was looted and just 13 cars were burnt.

Local riots were more subdued over the Shavuos festival due to significant police forces being deployed in the mixed towns to prevent unrest. The Arab Higher Council declared a “day of rage” strike Tuesday over the “war and attack on our people in El-Aqsa, Sheikh Jarrah” as well as the “attack on our community in mixed cities and in all other locales.”