Home Front Command relaxes restrictions after ceasefire

The Home Front Command relaxed restrictions on southern Israel on Saturday night two hours after a ceasefire between the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Israel reportedly took effect.

According to the new guidelines, gatherings in open areas of more than 10 people and in buildings of more than 100 people will be banned in communities near the Gaza border from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. Additionally, in that time period, only workplaces with a shelter nearby will be able to open and classes will only take place within shelters.

White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan emphasized the need to deescalate tensions during a call with the head of Israel's National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, the White House said on Wednesday, amid Israel hitting targets in Gaza and militants firing at Tel Aviv.

Israel hit Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza for a second day on Wednesday and Palestinian militants launched hundreds of rockets across the border, setting off sirens as far away as Tel Aviv, while Egypt began efforts to mediate an end to the fighting.

The IDF Air Force attacked targets of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group in the Gaza Strip, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit announced on Thursday morning.

According to Palestinian media, a senior PIJ commander was killed in a targeted attack on his apartment in Khan Younes.

The Israeli attack comes about two hours after the last rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, which targeted Kibbutz Sufa in the southern Gaza Strip border area.

A group of UN ambassadors arrived on a trip to Israel on Tuesday, despite the on-going conflict, led by Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan and the IJIA - Federation of New York.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned civilian deaths in Gaza as "unacceptable" in a statement released on Tuesday.

The Ambassadors, from Antigua and Barbuda, Chad, Fiji, Guinea-Bissau, the Laos People’s Democratic Republic, the Marshall Islands, the Philippines, South Sudan, and Tuvalu, will visit Israeli Defense Force bases where they will be briefed by IDF officials. They will also visit the Iron Dome Missile Defense Battery and examine one of the Hezbollah-constructed terror tunnels.

The visit will also include important cultural centers in Israel, like the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Yad Vashem and more. 

The visiting Ambassadors are scheduled to meet with top Israeli officials, including President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and military officials.

An Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor missile as rockets are fired from Gaza, in Sderot, Israel, May 10, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)

The significance of the visit

Describing the importance of the visit, Ambassador Erdan stated: “Precisely in the days when the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists fire rockets at the citizens of Israel, it is especially important that the ambassadors of the countries in the distorted UN see the threats experienced by the citizens of Israel. The ambassadors will understand the murderousness of our enemies and the security challenges we face.”

As reported by The Jerusalem Post, over 470 rockets have been fired into Israel by terrorist factions in Gaza. 

“The delegation of ambassadors is a major effort that I lead at the United Nations. Bringing UN ambassadors to Israel is an effective way to show the true face of the country,” Erdan said.

“The visit of the UN ambassadors to Israel at this particular time is especially important - they will be exposed to the threats that Israel is facing and the harsh reality that Israeli civilians experience when rockets are fired. I am sure the Ambassadors will take the memories of this delegation with them as they go about their diplomatic work at the UN and in their home countries,” he added.

Comments on the conflict by the UN

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned civilian deaths in Gaza as "unacceptable" and appealed for them to "stop immediately" and for all parties to exercise maximum restraint, Deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Wednesday.

"Israel must abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law, including the proportional use of force and taking all feasible precautions to spare civilians and civilian objects in the conduct of military operations," Haq said.

"The Secretary-General urges all parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint and to work to stop hostilities immediately," Haq said in a statement.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned civilian deaths in Gaza as "unacceptable" and appealed for it to "stop immediately" and for all parties to exercise maximum restraint, Deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Wednesday.

"Israel must abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law, including the proportional use of force and taking all feasible precautions to spare civilians and civilian objects in the conduct of military operations," Haq said.

Direct rocket hits were reported in the southern Israeli cities of Sderot and Ashkelon following a heavy barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday night.

The municipalities of Sderot and Ashkelon both confirmed they had received initial reports of two direct hits on unspecified residential buildings in the cities.

Unconfirmed footage taken from Ashkelon shows a damaged car parked among the rubble of the reported rocket strike.

Egypt continued mediating a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to end Operation Shield and Arrow on Wednesday, even as the latter continued a barrage of rockets towards Israeli cities in the south and Tel Aviv area.

“The campaign still isn’t over,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement to the media. “We say to the terrorists and those who sent them: We see you everywhere; you can’t hide.”

However, a senior diplomatic source said that Israel is “ready for a ceasefire; we did what we needed to do” in Gaza.

Operation Shield and Arrow is not over despite reports of an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire set to come into effect on Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

"We see you everywhere, you cannot hide," Netanyahu said in a direct warning to Palestinian terrorist leaders in the Gaza Strip. "We will choose the time and place to attack and to stop attacking."

Netanyahu further claimed that Israeli forces dealt the Palestinian Islamic Jihad the "biggest blow it ever suffered."

Around 300 rockets had been fired from Gaza against Israel in a matter of hours over Wednesday, coming only a week after over 100 rockers were fired on Israel over May 2-3.

In addition, over the course of Wednesday, two rockets were fired from Gaza against Tel Aviv and some other rockets were fired against the critical Gush Dan region – in contrast to the “usual” practice of firing “only” on Israel’s Gaza corridor villages.

All of this could suggest the beginnings of a much larger conflict, such as in 2014 or May 2021. If so, then why did all the talk by early evening switch to a likely ceasefire by around 9:00 p.m.?

There have been at least two major categories of signs since this all started on Tuesday (or even last Tuesday if you want to go farther back) that this would not be a huge conflict, but more of a hot and quick one – like the August 2022 conflict with Gaza.

Both categories are about what did not happen, since often what does not happen is as important as what did.

First, there was the lapse of time for firing rockets and who did not basically participate at all.

An Israeli Iron Dome anti-missile system is activated as rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, near Ashdod, Israel May 10, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)

Islamic Jihad did not fire a single rocket at Israel all day Tuesday despite the IDF killing three of its top leaders early Tuesday morning. In fact, the terror group did not fire rockets on Israel until early afternoon Wednesday. This was a stunning extended time lapse that showed that Islamic Jihad was not ready for a long conflict.

Why didn’t they shoot until Wednesday and why might they want a quick end now?

It could be because they are not sure yet who is in charge in place of the three eliminated leaders. It could be that the new leaders are afraid they will be killed next if there is a long conflict.

It could also be the absence of Hamas from this conflict.

This week, last week and in August 2022, Hamas issued statements that it was involved and supported Islamic Jihad, but Israeli intelligence said that this was public relations trying to cover up that the true rulers of Gaza stayed out of things.

According to IDF intelligence, Hamas has not been a major factor even on Wednesday with 300 rockets fired, though they may have participated symbolically.

The second category of what didn’t happen has to do with volume. 300 rockets in a few hours is a ton of rockets.

At press time, that number of rockets might have been on the way to increasing by several dozen more at least. But in longer conflicts, Israel has faced over 4,000 rockets. Meaning what we have seen so far has been very limited compared to some past rounds.

Likewise, two rockets at Tel Aviv and possibly some more around press time, is a major escalation.

But in 2021, over 160 rockets were fired at Tel Aviv, at one point around 130 rockets in one day.

Large volume of rockets sent to Tel Aviv

This is not just a much smaller volume this round. Any rocket fired at Tel Aviv is part of Hamas or Islamic Jihad’s much more limited number of long range rockets. Using up such rockets which are not easily replaced is a strategic issue for the terror groups.

This means that in 2021 Hamas and Islamic Jihad were strategically committed to use up large amounts of their “best shots” against Israel.

The same simply cannot be said this time.

Finally, some of this goes back to how this all started.

If in 2014, Gaza was in a deep economic squeeze, and if in 2021, the Strip’s rulers wanted to identify their cause with Jerusalem for broader global propaganda purposes – neither of those conditions is present this time.

Gaza is not doing well economically, but it is also not doing much worse lately than in recent months or years. There has even been a period of allowing more Gaza workers into Israel.

Jerusalem also has not been part of this round of fighting (though it might have been for the very short round of rockets around Passover.) This round of fighting in some ways came from an Israeli mistake of letting a top Islamic Jihad official in prison die while on hunger strike.

Islamic Jihad felt it needed to respond to defend his honor. Israel felt it needed to restore deterrence or defend its honor and one thing has led to another – but neither side was even close to wanting a long battle now.

Gaza is still licking its wounds from May 2021 and August 2022 and the current coalition has its hands full with crisis over the judicial overhaul and food and gas prices.

In short, both sides are likely reading the signs of restraint that each has shown in certain ways (Israel has barely touched Hamas) and trying to find a quick way to end this unwanted accident and distraction of a fight.

Schools will remain closed across southern Israel on Thursday and Friday, the IDF's Home Front Command announced on Wednesday afternoon in a continuation of a series of restrictions placed due to the military's Operation Shield and Arrow launched on Tuesday.

The Home Front Command has directed residents of communities in southern Israel to stay near shelters and also banned any gatherings in open areas of over 10 people and gatherings in closed buildings of over 100 people.

The extension of the restrictions comes as a barrage of at least 289 rockets was launched toward central and southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.