Gaza Retaliates, Israel Closes Schools

Tel Aviv, MINA – Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday, November 12 ordered schools to be closed in southern and central Israel, including Tel Aviv metropolitan area, when resistance groups in the Gaza Strip began firing dozens of rockets into the cities.

A rocket attack from Gaza was launched in retaliation for the killing of a senior commander of Jihad Islam resistance group on Tuesday morning.

“We are ready for several days of fighting with air defense shields, including in the center of the country,” IDF spokesman Hidai Zilberman told reporters, the Times of Israel reported.

About 50 rockets and mortars were fired from the Gaza Strip into central and southern Israel that day at 9:10 am, according to IDF.

The military said soldiers operating the Iron Dome missile defense system shot down 20 of the incoming projectiles.

The IDF Command ordered all non-essential schools and businesses to be closed in the Gaza suburbs of Lakhis; Western Negev, central Negev, and Shfela region. They also prohibit meeting more than 100 people.

It is the first time IDF ordered the closure of schools and businesses in Tel Aviv metropolitan area since the 2014 Gaza war. (T/Sj/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)