LIVEBLOG: More than 1,200 rockets fired from Gaza toward Israel since start of latest escalation
Israel expecting massive rocket barrage from 18:00 after senior Hamas commanders killed in tunnel
Israel is bracing for a massive terrorist onslaught from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip after a joint IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) operation killed six top commanders.
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) released a statement at around 15:00 Wednesday that they would fire rockets toward new targets, including Haifa and Eilat. Terrorist groups in the strip have already fired approximately 1,000 rockets toward Israeli territory.
The Home Front state of emergency, which Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz requested a two-week extension to, is supposed to encompass an 80-kilometer radius from the Gaza Strip. Both Haifa and Eilat lie far outside this zone, which suggests that Hamas will use Iranian-made long-range missiles.
Earlier in the day, an IDF soldier was killed alongside the border when an anti-tank rocket struck the jeep that he was traveling in.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the expected barrage declaring that "We will inflict blows Hamas has not dreamt of."
Police: 21 arrested in Arab-Israeli protests in Wadi Ara area, Hadera, Jisr az-Zarqa
Sirens sound in communities by Gaza Strip after several hours of quiet
IDF strike hits Hamas main bank infrastucture
Damage caused to Acre's train line during riots
Israel Rail Authority said damage done to Acre's station, putting it out of commission until it is repaired.
Riots overnight left infrastructure, as well as communication cables, out of order.
Blinken condemns rocket attacks in phone call with Mahmoud Abbas
"I spoke with President [Mahmoud] Abbas about the ongoing situation in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted early Thursday.
"I expressed condolences for the loss of life. I emphasized the need to end rocket attacks and de-escalate tensions."
Estonia, France, Norway, Ireland release statement after UN Security Council meeting condemning escalation
IDF strikes hit Hamas commander's home, kill multiple terrorists
The Israel Defense Forces said the home of Iyad Tayyeb, a Hamas battalion commander, was hit by an airstrike
Border Police officer injured by gunfire in Arab-Israeli town
An Israeli Border Police officer is receiving treatment at Emek Medical center in Afula after sustaining a gunshot injury in the Arab-Israeli city Umm al-Fahm.
After a suspect threw a Molotov cocktail during riots in city, located in the north of Israel's Arab "triangle" region, Border Police chased after the perpertrator of the fire-bombing attack.
In the chase, an officer was shot and suffered moderate injuries.
PM urges Israelis follow guidelines — 'they save lives'
Building in Petach Tikva on fire after direct hit by Gaza rocket
A rocket from Gaza scored a direct hit on a building in Petach Tikva, several miles northeast of Tel Aviv.
Magen David Adom said no injuries had yet been reported, including in the fire that erupted in the Petach Tikva building, in the latest overnight barrage that targeted Tel Aviv, Bat Yam, Hertzliya and other central Israeli towns.
Reports of wanton violence against Jews, Arabs in Israel
An Arab man was reportedly in serious condition after an attack in Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market, as well as an Israeli who apparently entered the Arab-Israeli town Tamara by mistake, according to Hebrew media reports.
Both are in intensive care after suffering serious wounds.
Despite Israel Police saying authorities had regained control over major points around the country, reports detail additional attacks by Arab and Jewish mobs on civilians.
Red alert sirens wail over Tel Aviv, central Israeli towns
Israeli politicians condemn 'lynching'
Israeli politicians blasted images of masses in Bat Yam, central Israel, attacking a motorist they thought was an Arab.
"We will return power and governance to the cities of Israel everywhere," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
"To the citizens of Israel," he added, "I say - I do not care if your blood is boiling. You can not take the law into your own hands. You can not come and simply take Arab citizen and try to lynch him. "
Ra'am party chairman Mansour Abbas said, "The lynching and riots that are currently taking place across the country are horrifying and should concern us all as Arabs and Jews."
Netanyahu begins meeting on unrest in Israeli cities
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met high-ranking officials in the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv over the unrest in Israeli cities.
Earlier, he threatened to use the military to quell the riots around Israel, but Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi expressed opposition to using soldiers to quell civil disorder.
Biden condemns attacks on Israel in phone call with Netanyahu
US President Joe Biden condemned the rocket attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups on Israel in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden conveyed his unwavering support for Israel’s security and legitimate right to defend itself and its people. He expressed his support for a pathway to achieving a sustainable calm.
Jerusalem, he said, as a significant city for people of major world religions, must remain a place of peace.
The two agreed to remain in close contact, whether in defense, foreign diplomacy or national security.
Lynching in two cities
A 30-year-old Jewish man was assaulted by a crowd in Acre during the evening, while in Bat Yam, a group linked to La Familia attacked a man believed to be Arab, Ynet reported. His condition is serious.
Israeli police have clashed with Arab and Jewish rioters in several mixed cities, and have been criticized for not showing sufficient presence. The Prime Minister is pushing for the deployment of army personnel to quell rioting. A curfew is in place in Lod.
President Reuven Rivlin addressed community leaders :
“I call on and beg of all local leaders, religious leaders, on citizens, on parents. Do all you can to stop this terrible thing that is happening before our eyes,” he told Channel 12 news.
Rivlin: Civil war unfolding before our eyes, stop the madness
Israel's President Reuven Rivlin branded the violent riots that broke out in different Israeli communities "a civil war unfolding before our eyes," calling upon Israelis to "stop the madness."
Evening of intercommunal violence continues, politicians urge restraint
Violence between Arab and Jewish demonstrators is being reported in mixed cities across the country, including Bat Yam, Lod, Yaffa, Tiberias, and Acre.
Politicians from various sectors of the political spectrum have called for restraint.
Centrist Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid Tweeted:
“Violence will not defeat us. Violence will not run our lives. The rioters of Lod and Acre do not represent all the Arabs of Israel. The rioters of Bat Yam and the people of La Familia, Lehavah and Kahana are a poor bunch of racists, who do not represent the Jews of Israel.”
Fellow Member of Knesset, and far right leader Bezalel Smotrich, also called for restraint via Twitter:
“My Jewish brothers. Stop!!! We are not like them!! We must not be dragged into this violence, God forbid. Self-defense against terrorism and rioters - yes, violence from our side and property destruction – under no circumstances!! We must not escalate into anarchy.”
Rioting reported in Bat Yam
Jewish youths are demonstrating, throwing stones, and vandalizing Arab owned businesses in the Israeli coastal town, Kan is reporting.
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Direct rocket strike to residential building; child in critical condition
A six-year-old is in a critical condition after a rocket fired from Gaza directly struck a residential building in Sderot. Paramedics evacuated a number of individuals to Barzilai Hospital, a medical spokesperson said.