VFI News May 11 – BREAKING NEWS: ISRAEL UNDER ROCKET FIRE

The following is special coverage of the conflict between IDF and Hamas forces in the Gaza strip.

Two women were killed and more than 90 people were injured on Tuesday after rockets, fired from the Gaza Strip, slammed into a number of homes in Ashkelon and Ashdod. Four of the injured were members of the same family.

One of the women was in her 80s and the other was in her 60s.

The four family members were evacuated to Ashkelon's Barzilai Medical Center. Authorities said that the 40-year-old father was in moderate-to-serious condition suffering from injuries to his head. The mother, 39, was in moderate condition and the children suffered from light injuries.

Of those injured on Tuesday, five were children, 26 were in light condition, 13 were suffering from anxiety, one person was moderately injured and two other people were seriously injured. (JPost / VFI News)

"Lord we ask that you send your angels to protect the residents of the south. Heal those who were injured and comfort those who lost loved ones or property."

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Israeli forces struck over 100 targets across the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip overnight in response to a series of rocket attacks, an IDF spokesperson said Tuesday morning.

More than 130 targets were hit by Israeli airstrikes late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, after militants operating out of the Gaza Strip launched over 200 rockets into Israeli territory.

During the first and second wave of airstrikes, collectively dubbed ‘Operation Guardian of the Walls’, Israeli Air Force fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, and army drones struck weapons manufacturing facilities operated by Hamas. (INN / VFI News)

"Lord, please enable the IDF to target the sources of rocket launchers and destroy them. We pray that innocent lives will be protected and that the terrorists' activity would be stopped."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “gravely concerned” by the ongoing escalation in Israel and Gaza, his spokesman says in a statement.

Guterres “is deeply saddened to learn of increasingly large numbers of casualties, including children, from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, and of Israeli fatalities from rockets launched from Gaza,” the statement says.

Guterres calls on Israeli security forces to “exercise maximum restraint and calibrate their use of force,” while adding that the “indiscriminate launching of rockets and mortars towards Israeli population centers” by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad is “unacceptable.”

“This spiraling escalation must cease immediately,” the statement continues. “The United Nations is working with all relevant parties to de-escalate the situation urgently.” (TOI / VFI News)

“Lord, protect the innocent lives on both sides--the Israeli and Palestinian--and bring a swift end to this conflict.”

Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations have contacted Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in an attempt to prevent a major confrontation between the Gaza-based terrorist groups and Israel, sources close to Hamas said Monday night.

Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, phoned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and briefed him on the current situation in the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem, the sources said.

“Our decision and the decision of the Palestinian people is to defend al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem,” Haniyeh was quoted as telling Erdogan. “This is not the battle of the Jerusalem residents alone, but the battle of all of Palestine and all Muslims.”

Leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip threatened to step up their attacks on Israel in response to Israeli attacks on the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave. (JPost / VFI News)

The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.