The Israel Defense Forces Operation Shield and Arrow entered its fourth day, with no rockets fired at Israel since Thursday night. Nevertheless, hundreds of rockets were fired at Israel all throughout Thursday, with the last rocket launch occurring at 9:59 PM. IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Danny Hagari spoke Friday morning in regard to the deadly rocket that struck a building in Rehoboth and injured many while killing one Israeli citizen. According to the spokesman, the investigation shows that the rocket was not intercepted by the Iron Dome system because of a technical malfunction.
"We understand that the interceptor was launched and did not hit," Hagari said. In regards to the rocket itself that struck the building, Hagari added that "It is a self-made rocket and not an abnormal rocket. It is a rocket with a range of about 70 km and 20 kg of explosives, which hit the building at a complex angle." The angle of entry and payload contributed to the devastation that occurred to the building, which engineers are now assessing to see if the remaining structure is safe.
The caption says “The coming hours are full of surprises... A picture of the collapse of a house in Tel Aviv now 🇵🇸✌️”
— Jay Engelmayer (@jengelmayer) May 11, 2023
It’s not Tel Aviv, but it’s an alarming development as Rehovot is a heavily populated central Israeli city - & this type of damage is unusual for these rockets. pic.twitter.com/igFKnj8d9W
An Egyptian official told the BBC website in Arabic that the cease-fire talks "hit an obstacle", without elaborating, when earlier it was reported that the Jihad representative had agreed in principle to the talks. Throughout the night between Thursday and Friday, the Israeli attacks continued in the Gaza Strip, but at a relatively low intensity. According to the BBC report, "the cease-fire agreement will be discussed between Egyptian President Al-Sisi, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, King Abdullah of Jordan and American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken."
On the other hand, the Arab TV channel Al Riyadh reported: "The cease-fire talks in Gaza conducted by Egypt and the United Nations are quite difficult, but the mediators are optimistic about the possibility of reaching a cease-fire agreement within a few hours." It was also noted in the Arabic report that Israel is trying to have the “final say” before the ceasefire goes into effect.
Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continue even as hopes for a cease-fire grow (from @AP) https://t.co/Y7l7Q73d9F
— EJ News (@ejnews0) May 12, 2023
Muhammad Al-Hindi, the head of the political bureau of the Islamic Jihad and the organization's representative in the ceasefire talks in Egypt, said Friday morning in a conversation from Cairo with the Qatar-based Al-Arabi TV channel: "The talks are continuing and we hope to reach a respectful agreement that reflects the interests of the Palestinian people."
Al-Hindi met already on Thursday with the head of the Egyptian intelligence services, Abbas Kamel, in Cairo. Egypt, according to reports, Egypt has been trying to initiate a cease-fire agreement between the parties since last Tuesday, but its efforts so far have been unsuccessful with the Jihad insisting on an Israeli commitment to stop the policy of assassinations, and on the release of the body of the hunger-striking prisoner Khader Adnan as part of the cease-fire. In Israel, it seems, they didn't intend to hold the body anyway, but they don't intend to release it as part of the cease-fire; nor are they willing to commit to stopping the targeted attacks which have decimated the leadership of the Islamic Jihad.
🚨 #Urgent - Kan Hebrew channel:
— Scotlandiya (@BentBladi0) May 11, 2023
"At the end of the assessment of the situation, Israel decided to respond forcefully to the rocket fire from Gaza and push the Islamic Jihad to agree to a cease-fire"
The latest conflict began after Israel launched a hyper-targeted strike that took out three Islamic Jihad leaders who were coordinating with cells in Jenin, Samaria to manufacture and launch missiles from there. The Samaria-based cell was also taken out in a coordinated assault, and seven Jihadist members surrendered to Israeli forces after two leaders of the cell were killed engaging Israeli forces.
