After rocket fire, Sderot mayor urges IDF to ‘strike without mercy’

The mayor of the southern Israeli city of Sderot on Wednesday called on the government and military to respond “without mercy” to rocket fire by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.

Earlier on Wednesday night, four rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza. Two of the projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, a third struck an open field, and the fourth fell short of the border and hit a school in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli officials.

In response, the IDF carried out a series of airstrikes against Hamas targets in Gaza overnight Wednesday-Thursday, the army said. In a statement, the IDF spokesperson said Israeli planes had targeted three military facilities belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in different parts of the Gaza Strip.

Mayor of Sderot Alon Davidi, in a statement issued before the retaliation bombing, urged the government and military to take aggressive action.

“I expect the prime minister, the defense minister, and the IDF commander to strike the terror groups without mercy,” Davidi said. “We will not tolerate the continued fire at the city of Sderot.”

The mayor also appeared to criticize the IDF’s pinpoint retaliation of Hamas facilities in the Strip following each rocket attack.

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The rocket launches on Wednesday night triggered sirens that sent Israelis running for cover in the town of Sderot, as well as in the Eshkol, Sha’ar Hanegev, Sdot Hanegev and Hof Ashkelon regions, the army said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage caused by the Gaza rockets themselves, but two Israelis were treated for anxiety attacks and a man in his 30s was lightly injured his leg while running to a rocket shelter, the Magen David Adom rescue service said.

The Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council canceled a soccer tournament that had been scheduled for the eight-day Hanukkah festival that began on Tuesday night, Hadashot news reported Wednesday. Hundreds of children were expected to take part in the competition, but after many parents contacted organizers with their safety concerns, the event was canceled.

Sderot and other communities in the Gaza border area have been battered with thousands of rockets fired from Gaza over the years.

Last week a rocket landed in the courtyard of a kindergarten in Sderot. The missile caused damage to the kindergarten building, including smashing a window, but no injuries. No one was in the building when the rocket struck.

Since US President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last week, infuriating Palestinians, 16 rockets have been fired out of Gaza at southern Israel. Israel’s military has responded to each attack by targeting Hamas military infrastructure. Israel says it holds the terror group responsible for what goes on in the Gaza Strip. Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.

A Palestinian security source said there were more than 10 strikes on targets overnight Wednesday-Thursday, which included a Hamas naval site and a military base near the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza.

The source said there had been significant damage to the sites, as well as more minor damage to nearby houses, causing minor injuries.

There was no initial confirmation of injuries from the ministry of health in Gaza.

In response to the increased fire, Israel said it would close its crossings with the Gaza Strip in a rare punitive measure.

Hamas last week called for a new intifada against Israel, urged Palestinians to confront soldiers and settlers, and has allowed thousands of Gazans to confront Israeli troops at the Gaza border fence in recent days. Its leader Ismail Haniyeh has praised the “blessed intifada,” urged the liberation of Jerusalem, and made plain the group was seeking to intensify violence against Israel.

In an address last Wednesday from the White House, Trump defied worldwide warnings and insisted that after repeated failures to achieve peace a new approach was long overdue, describing his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the seat of Israel’s government as merely based on reality.

The move was hailed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by leaders across much of the Israeli political spectrum. Trump stressed that he was not specifying the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in the city, and called for no change in the status quo at the city’s holy sites.