Escalation from the Gaza Strip – Operation Guardian of the Walls Updated to Noon, May 12, 2021

Overview

• For the past 24 hours there has been continuous, massive rocket fire from the Gaza Strip targeting Israel. During the night longer-range rockets were fired, reaching the center of the country. As of noon, May 12, 2021, five Israelis had been killed and scores wounded. In the morning an anti-tank missile was fired (the second since the escalation began), killing one person and wounding two. Throughout the morning hours the terrorist organizations continued firing rockets, most of them targeting the Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip.
• Hamas regards the events that have unfolded so far as a “victory.” Hamas gave Israel an ultimatum, carried out its threats, caused loss of life and property damage, and significantly disrupted the fabric of daily life in Israel. The rioting Israeli Arabs add to Hamas’ claim of victory.
• Israel has signaled that its response will not be proportional or be limited in duration. Israeli aircraft has carried out massive attacks, destroying several high-rise buildings in the Gaza Strip where senior Hamas operatives lived, and killing senior operatives in the military-terrorist wings of both Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

Rocket Fire

• During the past 24 hours rocket fire attacking Israel increased significantly and spread from the south to the center of the country. As of noon, May 12, 2021, according to the IDF spokesman, more than 850 rockets had been fired at Israel, and 200 additional rockets were fired but landed inside the Gaza Strip. The Iron Dome aerial defense system successfully intercepted between 85% and 90% of the rockets (IDF spokesman, May 12, 2021).

• Five Israelis were killed by the rocket fire: two women in Ashqelon, a father and daughter near Lod, and a woman in Rishon LeTzion. Several dozen people were treated at hospitals, most of them for superficial injuries and shock.
• On the afternoon of May 11, 2021, an exceptionally large barrage of rockets was fired at the southern coastal cities of Ashdod and Ashqelon. One rocket hit a fuel tank near Ashqelon, setting it on fire. It burned for several hours until it could be extinguished. Hamas’ military-terrorist wing claimed responsibility for the rocket hit on the fuel tank (Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades’ Telegram channel, May 11, 2021).
• The military-terrorist wing claimed it was using a new tactic by firing Sejil rockets at Ashqelon, which successfully evaded the Iron Dome aerial defense system and killed and wounded Israelis (Sawa, May 11, 2021).

• At 19:00 on May 11, 2021, Hamas’ military-terrorist wing threatened Israel, saying that if Israel continued attacking residential buildings in the Gaza Strip Tel Aviv would be hit hard (Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades’ Telegram channel, May 11, 2021). After the IDF destroyed the Hanadi Tower, a 13-story building in Gaza City, the military-terrorist wings of both Hamas and the PIJ threatened Tel Aviv would be attacked at 21:00. At 20:45 the terrorist organizations fired dozens of rockets at the Tel Aviv and coastal plain region. Hamas rushed to announce that 130 rockets with heavy warheads had been fired in the largest attack ever carried out against Tel Aviv. A similar barrage was fired at 03:00, May 12, 2021, at the Tel Aviv and coastal plain regions, Beersheba, Dimona and other cities.
• Hamas’ military-terrorist wing revealed that SH85 rockets had been fired in the attacks on Tel Aviv and Ben-Gurion International Airport. The rockets are named for Muhammad Abu Shamala, a senior Hamas terrorist operative who was killed in Operation Protective Edge. Other types of rockets fired were J80, M75, A120 and J90.^[1] Hamas also said Beersheba had been attacked with Sejil rockets (Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades’ Telegram channel, May 12, 2021).

   
A bus in the central Israeli city of Holon takes a direct rocket hit
(Twitter account of journalist Hassan Aslih, May 11, 2021).

 
Right: Direct hit on a house in Givatayim in the greater Tel Aviv area
(QudsN Facebook page, May 11, 2021). Left: Direct hit on a vehicle in Ashqelon
(Magen David Adom spokesman’s unit, May 11, 2021).

• Hamas and the PIJ noted their satisfaction with firing rockets at the center of Israel:
  • The joint operations room of the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip said in a statement that on the second day of “Operation Sword of Jerusalem” the Israeli leadership had not predicted the degree to which the “resistance” [i.e., the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip] had prepared itself. According to the statement they fired more than 300 rockets, the largest barrage of rockets in the history of the conflict, particularly at targets in and around Tel Aviv (Shehab, May 12, 2021).
  • Khaled Mashaal, a senior Hamas figure living abroad, said the Palestinian people were proud of the “resistance’s” ability to strike deep within the Israeli homeland and undermine its security (Shehab, May 12, 2021).
  • Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the “resistance” was designing its “struggle” to defend the Palestinian people and their holy sites. He said the strikes deep inside Israel stressed the Palestinians’ total willingness to sacrifice themselves to defend the Palestinian people’s principles (al-Aqsa, May 11, 2021).
  • Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Israel had failed and had not been able to deal with the rockets. He said the barrage targeting Tel Aviv was the largest and most significant in Israel’s history. He claimed they had fired 150 rockets in a number of minutes and the Iron Dome aerial defense system was helpless against them (al-Aqsa, May 11, 2021).
• The PIJ praised Hamas for the attack on Tel Aviv, saying the Palestinian “resistance” had proved its capabilities and its strength was equal to Israel’s (al-Mayadeen, May 11. 2021).

Anti-tank missile fired from the northern Gaza Strip at an Israeli vehicle

• On the morning of May 12, 2021, an anti-tank missile (the second since the beginning of the attacks) was fired from the northern Gaza Strip at an Israeli vehicle near the border. At the same time mortar shells were fired at the site, making it difficult for rescue workers to evacuate the wounded. One man was killed and three were wounded. Hamas’ military-terrorist wing claimed responsibility for the attack (the previous anti-tank missile attack was claimed by the PIJ). According to Hamas, a Kornet anti-tank missile was fired at an IDF jeep to the north of the Gaza Strip (QudsN Facebook page, May 12, 2021).

UAV from Gaza crosses the border and is intercepted

• A UAV launched from the Gaza Strip was intercepted by IDF aerial defense forces after it crossed the border into Israeli territory. The forces monitored it from the time it was launched until it crossed the border.

Israel’s Response

• Throughout the day the IDF attacked terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip, primarily those belonging to Hamas and the PIJ. As of noon, May 12, 2021, the attacks continued. So far the IDF has attacked more than 500 terrorist targets, focusing during the past 24 hours on the following (IDF spokesman, May 12, 2021):
  • Houses of military-terrorist wing operatives – Mainly buildings in Gaza City where Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure structure is located. For example, on May 12, 2021 a multi-story building that housed Hamas’ intelligence, media, West Bank and Gaza Brigade headquarters was attacked.
  • Underground targets – Facilities used by Hamas terrorist operatives.
  • Senior military-terrorist operatives – Cleared for publication was the information that in Gaza City and Khan Yunis the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency had killed a number of senior Hamas terrorist operatives who belonged to Hamas’ so-called “general staff forum” and were close associates of Muhammed Deif, the commander of Hamas’ military-terrorist wing (IDF spokesman, May 12, 2021). Before the Israeli announcement the PIJ reported the deaths of three of its commanders in an attack on the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City. They were Sameh Fahim Hashem al-Mamluk, responsible for the organization’s rocket firing unit in the northern Gaza Strip; Muhammad Yahya Abu al-Issa, a rocket unit commander and brother of the commander of the organization’s northern military-terrorist wing, who was killed in a targeted attack on November 12, 2019; and Kamal Taysir Suleiman Qriqa, field commander of the rocket launching unit of the Gaza Brigade. Hamas‘ military-terrorist wing reported the deaths of two of its commanders in the IDF attack on Tel al-Hawa. They were Hassan al-Qahwaji and Wa’el Issa (Paldf, May 12, 2021).
  • Rocket launching pits – On May 11 and 12, 2021, IDF aircraft attacked dozens of rocket launching pits in the Gaza Strip which had been used to fire rockets at Israel.
  • Houses of military-terrorist wing operatives – IDF aircraft attacked the houses of Hamas operatives who had gone underground so they would have nowhere to return to. For example, on May 12, 2021, the house of senior Hamas operative Salah Dahaman, which also served as a weapons storehouse, was attacked.
  • A Hamas squad preparing to launch a UAV into Israeli territory.

   
IDF attacks in the Gaza Strip (Palinfo Twitter account, May 12, 2021)

   
Right: Jabalia refugee camp after IDF attack (Palinfo Twitter account, May 12, 2021). Left: Targeted killing of terrorist in Beit Lahia (northern Gaza Strip)
(Twitter account of journalist Hassan Aslih, May 12, 2021). 

 
Right: Hanadi Tower in Gaza City after IDF attack (Twitter account of journalist Hassan Aslih, May 11, 2021). Left: Al-Johara building in Gaza City after IDF attack
(Twitter account of journalist Hassan Aslih, May 12, 2021).

• The announcement made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his intention to escalate Israel’s response and increase the attacks was widely covered by the Palestinian, Arab and international media. Journalists in the Gaza Strip reported that the consequence of the announcement would be that the organizations would increase the range of their rockets to include Ashqelon and Ashdod.

Palestinian casualties

• Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman for the ministry of health in the Gaza Strip, claimed that as of 12:00 noon, May 12, 2021, 43 Gazans had been killed, 12 of them allegedly children, and 296 had been wounded. According to reports, at least two of the children were killed by improvised rockets that blew up inside the Gaza Strip (Twitter account of DCIPalestine, May 11, 2021).

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad Reactions

• Isma’il Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political bureau, who resides in Qatar, said the Palestinians were currently beginning a new chapter in the confrontation with Israel and that they had been victorious. He claimed that today the Palestinian forces had a new balance of power which the “resistance” would use in every form in the al-Aqsa mosque compound and in the “resistance” of rocket fire. He claimed that Hamas’ activity on three fronts, Jerusalem, Gaza and the internal front, which included Israeli Arabs and the Palestinians in the West Bank, who were the core of the internal front (al-Aqsa, May 11, 2021).
• Usama Hamedan, in charge of Hamas’ external relations, said in the past Israel had attacked the Gaza Strip without a Palestinian response, but now there was a new equation, and the resistance would respond to any aggression against the Palestinian people. He said the battle was only beginning and Israel had to decide if it wanted to end the battle and pay the price, or if it was prepared to take a step back and admit it had made a stupid mistake (Filastin al-Yawm, May 11, 2021).

    
Right: The terrorist organizations boast of their capabilities (al-Araby al-Jadeed, London, May 12, 2021). Left: The terrorist organizations boast of their achievements in the current round of escalation. The Arabic reads, “Gaza enforces a new equation on Israel” (Alaa’ al-Laqta’s Facebook page, May 12, 2021).

Appeals to Israeli Arabs and Palestinians in Judea and Samaria

• Hamas spokesmen, headed by Fawzi Barhoum, and al-Aqsa TV issued incitement to violence throughout the day and called on Israeli Arabs and the residents of Judea and Samaria to take to the streets, burn vehicles and “resist” Israelis for the sake of victory in east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. During the evening Israeli Arabs did in fact riot in mixed Jewish-Arab and Arab cities throughout the country.
• Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’ military-terrorist wing, called on Israeli Arabs to continue the uprising (al-Aqsa, May 11, 2021). He also called on all the Palestinians, regardless of where they were, to stand firm and struggle against Israel. He praised the Palestinians in every arena, stressing that the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades were at the beck and call of the Palestinians and would answer every call for help in the struggle (al-Aqsa, May 12, 2021).
• Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem praised the rioting of Israeli Arabs in Lod, saying the flame that had been lit in Lod was the same flame that had been lit in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem (Hamas website, May 12, 2021).
• The PIJ called on all the forces in Judea and Samaria to begin a new intifada, and called on the Palestinian Authority to end its security coordination with Israel. He said an intifada was necessary because of Israel’s attacks on al-Aqsa mosque and escalation in the Gaza Strip (Filastin al-Yawm, May 12, 2021).

Judea and Samaria

•  Demonstrations were held in Jenin and Jericho to protest Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and in support of al-Aqsa mosque. In Hebron and Bethlehem Palestinians rioted against the Israeli security forces (Wafa, May 11, 2021).

   
Protest demonstrations in Jericho (left) and Jenin (right) (Wafa, May 11, 2021).

Mediation Attempts

• On the morning of May 11, 2021, the Hamas leadership told the Egyptians they would refuse to negotiate with Israel as long as it did not meet Hamas’ demands for a withdrawal of Israeli forces from al-Aqsa mosque, the release of the Palestinians detained because of their participation in the riots on the Temple Mount and the reversal of the decisions related to Sheikh Jarrah (al-Araby al-Jadeed, May 11, 2021). At a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Arab League, Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian foreign minister, said they had been in contact with Israel during the past few days to reach a lull and prevent the situation from deteriorating further, but Egypt had not received the response it wanted (Sky News, May 11, 2021).
• In the evening sources reported to al-Arabiya that Egypt was working for a lull in the Gaza Strip and was in contact with the “organizations” to achieve a ceasefire. It was also reported that Egypt asked Israel to stop its attacks unconditionally. Sources reported that Egypt, Qatar and the UN were holding intensive contacts to achieve a lull. According to other reports, Hamas told the mediators that Israel had to stop its attacks before Hamas would talk about a lull (al-Jazeera, May 12, 2021).
• PIJ leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah said mediation efforts were meaningless as long as Israel continued its “aggression” in Jerusalem (Filastin al-Yawm, May 11, 2018).

^[1] The letters refer to names and the numbers to range in kilometers. ↑

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