Israel Hit by Rockets from Three Fronts; Onslaught Continues into 47th Day

Residents of Israel’s southern communities woke up Sunday morning to the sound of red alert sirens that have pierced the air with few exceptions for the past 46 days. But new concerns joined the existing ones on Saturday night when rockets fired from across three borders landed inside Israeli territory. In addition to the Gaza Strip-launched weapons, rockets were fired from southern Lebanon and southwestern Syria. The Hizbullah terrorist organization was suspected of firing from Lebanon, but few believe it is willing to spread itself thinner than it is because of its role fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces as part of the Syrian civil war. Several times since Israel’s Operation Protective Edge began on July 8, one or two rockets were launched from Lebanon at Israel. Each time, the Lebanese army moved on the perpetrators to prevent a serious outbreak of hostilities along Israel’s northern border despite calls by Hamas for Hizbullah to enter the fray. On Sunday, the Lebanese army announced it had located the rocket launcher used in Saturday’s attack and that it is beefing up patrols in the area. The army believes the launch was done by a small Palestinian group in solidarity with Hamas and not by Hizbullah. There were also rockets fired from Syria along the Golan Heights. On Sunday morning, at least 15 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip had landed inside of Israel before 10am. The seemingly unstoppable flow of rockets is having a palpable effect on Israel’s southern communities, residents insisting the situation cannot continue. Over the weekend, media carried numerous comments from the political echelon discussing the possibility of returning ground forces to Gaza. Meanwhile, Egyptian officials said on Saturday that they are inviting Israel and Hamas negotiators to return for more talks in Cairo.