Israel's "Guardian of the Walls" operation against Hamas and other organizations in the Gaza Strip entered its ninth day today. Sirens were sounded this morning in settlements near the border with the Gaza Strip. No casualties or damage has been reported. This morning's rocket fire comes after a quiet night in which there was no fire from the Gaza Strip for more than six hours. Palestinian sources report extensive attacks by the IDF during the night. The reports say that more than 60 targets were attacked by the Israel Air Force. There are also reports of attacks from the sea on targets on the coast at Rafiah and Khan Younis.
During yesterday's Shavuot (Pentecost) holiday in Israel, more than 200 rockets were launched at Gaza Border settlements, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Beersheva. Two rockets fell in Sderot - one in a kindergarten and the other in the yard of an Osem factory. No casualties were reported.
The IDF reports that six rocket launches were identified from Lebanese territory during the night. The rockets apparently fell within Lebanon. The IDF returned fire.
US President Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night for the third time since Operation Guardian of the Walls began. According to a White House statement, Biden "encouraged Israel to make every effort to ensure the protection of innocent civilians," and expressed support for a cease-fire. The two leaders discussed efforts by Egypt to that end. Biden also welcomed the efforts being made to put an end to confrontations between Jews and Arabs in Israel and said he hoped that peace would be return to Jerusalem.
This is the first time since the conflict began that Biden has explicitly called for a cease-fire. Netanyahu responded that he was determined to complete the operation and said that Israel would "continue to strike terror targets as long as necessary in order to return calm and security to all Israeli citizens." Netanyahu also thanked the US president, who has been under pressure from members of his Democratic party to intervene to halt the fighting, for his support for Israel's right to defend itself.
The call for Israel to avoid civilian casualties came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Israel had furnished no proof that Hamas operated from the building housing foreign news organizations that was hit on Saturday. He said he had asked that Israel should justify flattening the multi-story building that the IDF claimed housed a headquarters of Hamas intelligence operations.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 18, 2021
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