Four civilians killed in mortar attack in southern Israel

Tanks head towards Gaza. [JINIPIX/ISRAEL SUN PHOTO]

At least four Israelis were killed and several others were injured in a mortar attack in southern Israel.

The attack Monday afternoon occurred in Israel’s Eshkol region, located along the border with Gaza.

At least nine injured people were airlifted to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva. Two reportedly are in serious condition.

The Code Red siren did not sound; mortars do not usually set it off.

The killed and injured were visitors to the area, according to the Jerusalem Post, citing a spokeswoman for the Eshkol Regional Council. The head of the Eshkol Regional Council, Haim Yellin, called on Israeli civilians to stop visiting soldiers in the area. The first Israeli killed in the current conflict died while visiting soldiers near the Gaza-Israel border.

The unofficial ceasefire between Israel and Gaza seemed to come to an end Monday evening as at least 12 volleys of rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza. Code Red sirens sounded thoughout the Carmel region in nothern Israel, including Zichron Yaakov, Hadera and Caesarea, as well as in southern Israeli communities.

Speaking in an address to the nation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will not end its operation in Gaza before destroying all the Hamas-built tunnels.

Neutralizing the tunnels is the first step toward demilitarization of Gaza, Netanyahu said Monday night in a nationally televised speech from the Israel Defence Forces headquarters in Tel Aviv. He said the international community must demand the demilitarization of Gaza and monitor the building materials that enter Gaza in the future.

“We need to be prepared for a continued operation,” Netanyahu said. “We will fight to defend our citizens, our children.”

Israeli troops confronted a group of Palestinian gunmen who infiltrated into Israel via a tunnel from Gaza.

The tunnel the Palestinians used Monday evening terminated in the area of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, located near Israel’s border with Gaza.

Israeli residents living near the Gaza border were instructed to remain in their homes with the doors locked while Israeli troops swept the area for more infiltrators.

Hamas said in a statement that their gunmen had killed 10 Israeli soldiers in the firefight, according to Reuters. The statement also said that the infiltrators returned to Gaza safely.  The IDF has not responded to the statement. Israel’s Channel Two said five Palestinian infiltrators were killed.

There have been at least five other incidents of Palestinian assailants infiltrating Israel from Gaza during the current conflict.