Two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip toward Jerusalem on Tuesday landed in the Gush Etzion area Tuesday, with one hitting an open area of a Palestinian village in the West Bank, police and the IDF reported. It was unclear if the rocket caused any damage or injuries, although AFP reported Palestinian paramedics were making their way to the scene.

Jerusalem – Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post

The rocket set off the warning siren in the nation’s capital for the second time since the start of Operation Pillar of Defense. The two rockets that set off the first such siren on Friday also landed outside the city.

Meanwhile, the IDF embarked on a series of major strikes in the Gaza Strip, striking 11 terrorist cells and 30 concealed rocket launchers in Gaza, and engaged in a wave of artillery strikes, an IDF Spokesman’s Office statement said.

One of the strikes hit a rocket launching cell responsible for firing on the Jerusalem area.

The IDF said it also struck an apartment used as a hideout by a senior Hamas official, as armored vehicles and artillery units continued to directed fire at Hamas targets.

Earlier Thursday, a salvo of rockets and mortars moderately wounded a reserve Armored Corps IDF officer near the Gaza border, making him the first victim of a barrage that has battered the South since the early morning. Emergency forces evacuated the officer to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.

Palestinians fired some 20 rockets at Beersheba Tuesday morning, following a relatively quiet night on the home front. Iron Dome intercepted at least 11 of the Grad rockets but three struck the city, damaging a bus, homes and a car but causing no injuries.

Dozens more Palestinians rockets flew toward Israel Tuesday, hitting Kiryat Malachi, Sderot, and aiming at Ashdod and Ashkelon. Iron Dome intercepted at least five rockets on trajectories toward populated areas.

The IDF struck some 100 terror targets in the Gaza Strip overnight Monday and rockets fired from the coastal territory continued to set off red alert sirens in communities across the South as Israel’s security cabinet met to discuss the latest cease-fire initiatives. The death toll in Gaza rose to at least 110 since the start of the operation.

According to the IDF Spokesman’s Office, underground rocket launching sites, weapons-smuggling tunnels, Hamas command posts and weapons storage facilities were targeted in the strikes. The Navy carried out strikes on targets along the Gaza coastline overnight. Artillery units opened fire on areas with suspicious activity as well.

The IDF also targeted the National Islamic Bank which Hamas uses to pay its employees. According to Al Jazeera, four people were injured in the IDF strike on the bank.

Just after midnight four rockets landed in the Ofakim area and approximately two hours later red alert sirens were sounded in Ashkelon, Sderot, the Be’er Tuvia Regional Council, Kiryat Gat and the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported in the attacks.

The Israel Air Force has struck more than 1,400 targets in Gaza since Operation Pillar of Defense, entering its seventh day on Tuesday, began with the targeted killing of Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari last Wednesday.

MDA forces have dealt with over 252 casualties since the beginning of the Gaza operation, including three killed by a rocket in Kiryat Malachi and 21 injured as a result of falling shrapnel. The Iron Dome has intercepted more than 350 rockets in total since the start of the operation.

Amid rumors that the IDF was preparing to launch a ground operation, the government agreed to briefly hold off on sending troops into Gaza in order to allow time for cease-fire efforts in Cairo to continue, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post Monday.

Efforts to reach a cease-fire deal, taking place in Cairo, continued into Tuesday as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was scheduled to arrive in Jerusalem.

Tovah Lazaroff and Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.

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