An anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip has hit a school bus in southern Israel, seriously injuring a boy of 16. The bus was near the end of its round and had dropped off most of its passengers, when the missile struck. The driver was also hurt in the attack, which happened near Sa’ad, close to the border with Gaza. It was the first time an anti-tank missile was fired deep into Israeli territory. A total of 45 mortars and rockets were fired by Palestinian extremists into southern Israel on Thursday. On midnight Hamas declared a ceasefire, but on Friday, 16 new mortars landed in Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces immediately launched retaliation against targets in Gaza, in which a total of five Palestinians were reportedly killed. For the first time since the Gaza War, an Israeli helicopter gunship machine was deployed against a target in Gaza. An airstrike targeted a Hamas security compound and tanks opened fire on at least two locations. Also on Thursday, Israel successfully deployed its new Iron Dome anti-missile defense system for the first time. It intercepted and destroyed a katyusha rocket fired out of Gaza (picture below).
Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday condemned what he called the Israeli “aggression” against Gaza and called on the international community to intervene to stop the escalation. Abbas’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, said that the Israeli “aggression” was unacceptable and deplorable. He said that Abbas also urged the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip to refrain from giving Israel an excuse to escalate the situation “and cause more suffering to our people.”
Speaking in the Czech capital Prague, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Whoever tries to hurt and murder children: the blood is on his hands." He vowed decisive action.
