Dozens of rockets fall in southern Israel

Militants in Gaza fired dozens of rockets at southern Israel in the latest escalation of violence, the Israeli army said. Over 50 rockets were fired at Israel Sunday morning and overnight Saturday. Palestinians reported one Islamic Jihad operative and another Palestinian were killed in Gaza Sunday morning. Three Israeli civilians were injured and damage caused to a factory in Sderot, Israel Police said. Israel's Home Front Command ordered schools and learning institutions to shut down due to the ongoing rocket attacks. Israel's air force conducted a number of air strikes in Gaza, targeting weapons manufacturing facilities as well as rocket launching sites. At the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned Israel is prepared to escalate its response."Terrorist organizations are suffering grave setbacks at the hands of the Israel Defense Forces. The world must understand that Israel will not sit idly. We are ready to escalate our response," Israel Radio quoted Netanyahu saying. "This is not North America or western Europe, this is a region where there is no grace for the weak. With open eyes, you must hit when the need arises, and sometimes you are hit, because that is what it is like in the boxing arena. We don't expect our neighbors to disappear, and our neighbors won't become Belgian or Dutch next week," Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Army Radio Sunday morning. Air raid sirens warned residents in communities surrounding the Gaza Strip, as well as further north in Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gan Yavne, Be'er Tuviya, of the incoming rocket fire. Some of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, the army said. Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Resistance Committee in Gaza all claimed responsibility for the upsurge in violence. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum warned Israel would pay for its crimes against the Palestinian people, Ynetnews.com said. The recent round of violence began Saturday evening, after Palestinian militants fired an anti-tank rocket at an Israeli military jeep patrolling near the Gaza border, injuring four soldiers, one seriously, the army said. The army fired artillery shells and executed a number of air strikes killing at least four Palestinians and injuring dozens. Israel's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz called the incident serious, and on Saturday night conducted a meeting with the military echelon to assess the situation. Netanyahu met with Barak to discuss the situation and later consulted with Gantz concerning Israel's response, the Hebrew language daily Maariv said.