Operation Guardian of the Walls Enters 9th Day

Israeli bombardment of Hamas-owned military targets in Gaza continued Monday night, with dozens of underground tunnels, rocket launch pads and buildings said to be housing Hamas commanders leveled by heavy aerial attacks.

According to updated figures released by the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday morning, 130 Hamas operatives have been killed so far in the weeklong operation in Gaza, and 30 Islamic Jihad troops.

After a relatively quiet night in Israel, residents of the country’s southern cities and towns were again forced into bomb shelters Tuesday morning as Hamas fired dozens of rockets onto civilian centers.

While most were either intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system or exploded in open territory, several rockets managed to make contact, with one directly hitting an evacuated apartment building. So far, Hamas has fired over 3,300 rockets at Israel since hostilities began early last week.