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Itongadol.- The Iron Dome anti-rocket system intercepted at least five projectiles over the metropolitan Tel Aviv area and two others landed in open areas nearby on Thursday, as Code Red rocket alert sirens also sounded in the southern city of Dimona, home of Israel\’s nuclear reactor, for the second straight day.
The sirens, interceptions, and rising Palestinian death toll from IDF strikes in Gaza marked the third day of Operation Protective Edge.
The attack on the Negev also set off Code Red sirens in nearby Mitzpe Rimon and Yeruham. Three rockets landed in open areas of Sde Boker.
Hamas took credit for the previous days rocket fire on Dimona, saying that it was attempting to hit the nuclear reactor. In Wednesday\’s attack, one rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome and two fell in open territory.
The attack on Dimona came after five Palestinian rockets fired by Hamas were intercepted over Tel Aviv on Thursday morning.
Rocket sirens in Tel Aviv which were activated around 8 a.m. on Thursday were immediately followed by a series of audible explosions, most likely the Iron Dome interception system which picked off the rockets as they were heading toward the area.
Remains of one of the rockets landed near a gas station in the greater Tel Aviv area.
The Iron Dome has shot down more than 70 rockets since Operation Protective Edge began, limiting injuries among Israelis.
Hamas took credit for the rocket fire on Tel Aviv, saying they had employed M-75 type rockets.
After a four hour lull in rocket fire overnight, Israel\’s southern communities again came under fire just after 6 a.m. Thursday. Areas such as the Sha\’ar Hanegev Regional council, Netivot and the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council were all targeted. No injuries were reported in the attacks.
More than 320 rockets have been fired since Operation Protective Edge began early on Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, Palestinian officials said Thursday that Israeli air strikes killed eight members of a family including five children in a pre-dawn raid on Gaza.
The IDF had no immediate comment on the report of the deadliest single bombing raid since its Gaza operation began. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the strike destroyed at least two homes in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
An Israeli airstrike killed four members of the Gaza Strip\’s main security apparatus, the Ma\’an news agency is reporting on Thursday.
Three Islamic Jihad operatives were killed in an IAF strike in Gaza. The IDF Spokesperson said that the three men were involved in the firing of rockets at Israel.
In the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF killed a Palestinian operative who was active in firing rockets at Israel.
At least 66 Palestinians have been killed in the violence, more than 50 of them civilians, Gaza medical officials said.
The Israel Air Force has struck 320 targets in Gaza over the past 24 hours, and 750 targets since the operation that began Monday night to extinguish Hamas rocket on Israel.
In overnight air strikes, 58 Hamas tunnels, 220 underground rocket launchers, and 46 command and control facilities – many located in the homes of senior Hamas commanders – have been destroyed, a senior military source said Thursday morning.
Some 80 command and control centers have been bombed since the start of the operation, the source added, and 513 underground rocket launchers have been destroyed.
Around 800 tons of explosives have been fired by air force jets on targets this week, the source said. The IAF\’s current rate of fire is double that of Operation Pillar of Defense, launched in 2012 to stop Hamas rocket fire from Gaza. "We\’ll see this trend increasing, as part of our firepower policy," he said.
The increase in firepower comes as the IDF continues to amass Ground Forces on the border with Gaza. The source said Hamas is waking up on Thursday to "a lot of damage in Gaza. Its facilities are destroyed, as are the homes of its battalion and deputy battalion commanders that were used as command and control centers in every way. Hamas was running the operations of their units out of these homes. Some had weapons storage caches in them."
The IDF is continuing the pressure on Hamas, he said, and the Gazan regime is frustrated by the fact that military power it has built up over years is systematically being destroyed. Iron Dome\’s high effectiveness in stopping rocket fire on the Israeli home front is also frustrating Hamas, he said.