The exchange of hundreds of air strikes and rockets between Israel's military and militant group Hamas continued Friday. In Israel, a rocket set a gas station on fire; in Gaza, the health ministry says 100 Palestinians have been killed and more than 600 injured in the military strikes that began this week.
Hamas announced today that it is targeting Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel's main international airport near Tel Aviv. The group warned airlines not to fly there, saying that it "will be one of our targets today because it also hosts a military air base," according to Jerusalem Post.
"Since Israel launched its offensive four days ago it has attacked at least 1,100 sites in Gaza, half of them rocket launchers, the army says," NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Jerusalem. "Today, rockets from Gaza were intercepted over Tel Aviv, and air raid sirens sounded in the northern city of Haifa for the first time."
"As the numbers of dead and injured here in Gaza rise, so are international calls to stop the fighting," NPR's Emily Harris reports from Gaza. "President Obama offered U.S. assistance to negotiate an end to current hostilities and perhaps restore the ceasefire Hamas and Israel agreed to after eight days of fighting in 2012. Yesterday, both sides said they are not considering a ceasefire now."
Some of the rockets that were fired at Israel today came from Lebanon.
The AP reports:
"The Lebanese military said three rockets were fired toward Israel around 6 a.m., and the Israelis retaliated by firing about 25 artillery shells on the area. "Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said that one of those suspected of firing the rockets was wounded and rushed to a hospital. The Lebanese military said troops found two rocket launchers and dismantled them."
While the rockets have disrupted life in Israel with air raid sirens and damage, many have missed targets or been intercepted by Israel's "Iron Dome" missile defense system. One Israeli civilian and an Israeli soldier have been seriously wounded, while other injuries have also been reported.
As NPR's Ari Shapiro reports, Israel's military credits the Iron Dome not only with saving people from rocket strikes – but also with moderating public outrage in Israel.
The thinking is that "if Israelis were being killed in large numbers, people would push for an even more aggressive response," Ari says, citing a military spokesman in a story for today's Morning Edition.
A more aggressive response could include a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip – something the military says it is preparing for as a possibility. The Israeli army has called up 30,000 reservists, Daniel Estrin reports, adding, "The army says three infantry brigades are already stationed on the border with Gaza and more are on the way."
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