Haaretz is reporting a wave of terrorist attacks striking Israel today. This morning, explosives killed a soldier in the IDF and wounded three others on patrol near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, in the border territory between Israel and Gaza. Islamic Jihad claimed credit for the attack. This evening Israeli time, terrorists launched nearly simultaneous attacks on the town of Sderot and on the Merkaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem, with Kassam rockets and guns, respectively. In the former case, the only casualties were four wounded, but in the latter seven people and counting were killed.
It remains to be seen whether there is any level of coordination among terrorist
Residents of Sderot take cover during a Color Red Alarm, Feb. 29 efforts, or whether disparate terrorist groups now have sufficient operational liberty to attack in waves rather than isolated incidents. In either case, Prime Minister Olmert faces a difficult array of choices; pressure from the US government to forge ahead with peace talks with the Palestinians is sure to result in an increased level of terrorism, at least in the short term, and it is unclear whether Mahmoud Abbas is a credible partner for negotiations.
The wires have yet to pick up on these incidents, and the Haaretz reports are slim on specifics. Any Jewcy readers in the area, or in touch with anyone in the area, can send in additional news, details, photos, etc., to be posted as soon as possible.