Hamas Missile Launches Near Mosque, Photo; Egypt Aids Gaza War With Israel
New aerial photographs showed a missile launch site in the Gaza Strip set up by Hamas just a half a block from a mosque and a children's playground.
A photograph provided to KleinOnline by the Israel Defense Forces on Thursday showed exact locations of the missile launch site, which is also in a half block radius to a gas station and close range to two factories.
Israel carried out on Thursday a surgical strike of the site noted above- a Fajr-5 missile launch pad for long range rockets set up in the populated Zeitoun district of Gaza. Israel's defenses include a network of interceptor missiles placed in different border locations, known as the Iron Dome. The IDF tweeted Thursday that numbers from Wednesday indicated 250 terrorist sites were targeted by IDF in Gaza, 274 rockets have struck Israel and there were 105 Iron Dome interceptions.
In a televised address on the matter, Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi said, "We are in contact with the people of Gaza and with Palestinians and we stand by them until we stop the aggression."
"The Israelis must realize that this aggression is unacceptable and would only lead to instability in the region," he added.
Egypt's Prime Minister Hesham Kandil arrived in the Gaza Strip Friday, calling for an end to the fighting as Palestinian rockets were aimed at Tel Aviv for a second straight day, according to Yahoo.
Israel said they paused air attacks on militant targets in Gaza during Kandil's brief visit but Hamas security claimed three airstrikes hit the territory during that time, the report added. Meanwhile, militants fired off more than 60 rockets after Kandil arrived in Gaza.
Residents of Israel and especially those in Tel Aviv and the surrounding areas have taken cover after the attacks started. With sirens blasting as warnings for locals, the streets of Israel are uncommonly empty.
"The streets of tel aviv have never been emptier," one Israeli citizen posted on Facebook.
The IDF tweeted on Friday that they have targeted 600 terror sites in Gaza, including underground rocket launchers and infrastructure. They also said on Friday, "The Iron Dome has intercepted 86 rockets fired from #Gaza into #Israel today. #IsraelUnderFire."
