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Sunday, August 21, 2016
Palestinian details of IDF response to Sderot attack indicates Israel deterred

[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: Israel' Gaza target bank is now full of armories,
weapons factories and other top targets that the Gazans have developed under
the protection of "quiet for quiet". It would appear from the Ma'an report
that Israel's retaliation today for the Sderot rocket attack declined to hit
any of the top targets.

There are several possible explanations.
#1. The top targets are shielded by human shields and Israel doesn't have
either the gizmos or the tactics to hit them without causing considerable
civilian casualties.
#2. The top targets are shielded by human shields and Israel doesn't want to
reveal at this time either the gizmos or the tactics it has developed to hit
them without causing considerable civilian casualties.
#3. Hitting any of the top targets would unleash a response from Gaza that
would continue in a cycle that would mean the end of summer vacation.

Please take note: the firing of a rocket at Sderot indicates that the
Gazans appear to be significantly less deterred than Israel. The rocket
that landed between houses could have just as easily slammed into the nearby
swimming pool that was full of kids. ]
================

5 Palestinians injured by Israeli shelling in Gaza after rocket falls in
southern Israel
Aug. 21, 2016 3:30 P.M. (Updated: Aug. 21, 2016 11:09 P.M.)
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=772780

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an ) -- The Israeli army fired missiles into the northern Gaza
Strip town of Beit Hanoun on Sunday afternoon and evening, injuring at least
five Palestinians, after a rocket fired from Gaza fell inside the southern
Israeli city of Sderot, with no injuries or damage reported by the Israeli
army.

Reports of an air raid over Beit Hanoun emerged at around 10:30 p.m, with
shelling from Israeli army planes reportedly injuring two Palestinians,
although there were no immediate details on the severity of their wounds. An
Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an that they could not immediately
elaborate on the report.

Earlier in the day, spokesman for the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip
Ashraf al-Qidra announced that a young Palestinian man in his twenties was
injured as a result of an Israeli artillery shelling targeting a military
training ground in Beit Hanoun near the Erez crossing.

Local sources later told Ma'an that two other Palestinians were also
injured, though the details remained unclear.

An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed in a statement that both the Israeli
air force and artillery tanks targeted two alleged Hamas posts in northern
Gaza on Sunday afternoon.

An Israel air force plane was used to strike the first target, while an
Israel army tank was used to attack the second, according to the Israeli
army.

Eyewitnesses told Ma'an that a rocket fired by an Israeli drone hit a water
reservoir and another shell landed in an open area in Beit Hanoun.

The missiles were fired minutes after it was confirmed by the Israeli army
that a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip and hit the city of Sderot.

The Hamas-affiliated news site the Palestinian Information Center later
reported that a "Palestinian citizen was injured in the face" by shrapnel of
an artillery shell.

The report quoted local sources as saying that Israeli tanks fired three
shells at an agricultural land in the al-Masriyyin neighborhood in Beit
Hanoun. Furthermore, the report said Israeli artillery shells landed in the
Filistin training ground which Hamas fighters use for military training.

No group had yet claimed responsibility for the rocket attack.

Rocket sirens were sounded in Sderot and nearby communities bordering the
Gaza Strip at 2:25 p.m. Israeli police later arrived to the scene where the
rocket landed and closed off the area, an Israeli police spokesperson said
in a statement.

According to the Israeli army, 14 rockets have been fired into Israel in
2016.

Most recently, on July 1, Israeli forces launched airstrikes at several
sites allegedly used by Palestinian political factions in the besieged
coastal enclave in response to a rocket fire that landed in Sderot.

In May, a Palestinian woman was killed during several consecutive days of
sustained airstrikes and tank shelling from Israeli forces, allegedly in
response to cross-border mortar shelling and a rocket being fired from the
Gaza Strip.

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