IDF sends brigades, calls up reservists to Gaza border following rocket
According to IDF Brig.-Gen. Ronen Manelis, the rocket was fired from Hamas operatives from a Hamas military post in Rafiah in the southern part of the Strip and had a range of 120 kilometers.
By ANNA AHRONHEIMIsraeli soldiers speak next to tanks as military armoured vehicles gather in an open area near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip October 18, 2018. (photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
Israel has deployed two infantry and armored brigades to southern Israel and has begun a limited call up for reservists in the intelligence and air defense corps following rocket fire on central Israel Monday morning, the IDF said.According to IDF Brig.-Gen. Ronen Manelis, the rocket was fired by Hamas operatives from a Hamas military post in Rafiah in the southern part of the Strip and had a range of 120 kilometers.Manelis, who refused to answer if the rocket was fired accidentally or deliberately, said that it was serious incident and that Israel is holding Hamas responsible.“The launch was carried out by Hamas from one of the group’s launchpads. We see Hamas as responsible for everything that happens in Gaza,” Manelis says on a call with reporters.Following the incident, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi held a situational assessment with the Commander of the Israeli Air Force Maj.-Gen. Amikam Norkin, the head of the Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Herzi Halevi and other senior officers.The two additional brigades sent to bolster the IDF’s Gaza Division with some 1,000 soldiers had been conducting training exercises, but were cut short due to the heightened tensions.
