A rocket launched from the Gaza Strip at a southern Israeli metropolis on Wednesday because it hosted a marketing campaign rally by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prompted him to take shelter briefly earlier than resuming the occasion, Israeli TV stations reported.
The Israeli navy confirmed the launch towards Ashkelon, which is 12 kilometres from the coastal Palestinian enclave, and mentioned the rocket was shot down by an Iron Dome air defence interceptor.
There was no speedy declare of accountability in Gaza, which is below the management of Hamas Islamists and the place a smaller armed faction, Islamic Jihad, exchanged fireplace with Israel throughout a two-day surge of violence final month.
Israeli TV stations confirmed Netanyahu, who’s campaigning to maintain the helm of the conservative Likud get together in an inside election on Thursday, being escorted off a stage by bodyguards. The stories mentioned he was taken to a shelter after sirens sounded.
It was the second try after a September look by Netanyahu within the close by city of Ashdod was briefly disrupted by a rocket siren.
Israel sparked the November combating in Gaza by assassinating Baha Abu al-Atta, an Islamic Jihad commander it accused of ordering the launch towards Ashdod.
“He [al-Atta] is now not round,” Netanyahu mentioned in a video circulated on social media that confirmed him smiling after he retook the stage in Ashkelon, to cheers from onlookers.
Veiled menace from Netanyahu
In a veiled menace to retaliate for Wednesday’s assault, he added: “Whoever tried to make an impression simply now ought to pack his baggage.”
Whereas Netanyahu is extensively anticipated to retain Likud’s management, he faces a tricky battle forward of a March common election in Israel — its third in a 12 months, after he and his centrist rival Benny Gantz didn’t safe majorities in two earlier ballots. Netanyahu’s standing has been dented by an indictment on corruption costs that he denies.
Netanyahu’s failure to stem assaults from Gaza has been invoked by his political rivals.
“The scenario by which Israeli residents reside on the mercy of terrorists and the prime minister of Israel is unable to tour elements of his nation is a badge of disgrace on the safety coverage within the south — and a lack of deterrence that no sovereign nation can settle for,” Gantz, a former navy chief, mentioned in a press release on Wednesday.
