Three rockets explode in the Be’er Sheva area

Israel’s Operation Protective Edge entered its fifth day on Saturday as Hamas continued to fire rockets into Israel and the Palestinian death toll caused by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza reached 107.

Ten Israelis were wounded, one of them seriously, by rockets that struck in Be’er Sheva and Ashdod. An elderly woman died after suffering a heart attack while seeking shelter in Haifa, which was targeted for the first time during the current round of fire.

Israeli jets have bombed over 1,100 targets across the Gaza Strip since the operation began. Reports from Gaza indicated widespread damage to houses, infrastructure and public buildings, with large numbers of civilian casualties.

On Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that international pressure will not halt Israeli strikes in Gaza – which will end only when “quiet is restored to Israel.” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas criticized Netanyahu for the Gaza offensive, and said that he does not have a partner for a two-state solution.

Speaking with paratroopers preparing for a possible ground offensive into Gaza, IDF chief Benny Gantz said the military “remembers there are citizens there,” and accused Hamas of “turning them into hostages.”