Pillar of Defense Live Blog: Day Seven 
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu 

Pillar of Defense Live Blog: Day Seven 

16:04 The Code Red siren warned of an incoming rocket in Ashdod. A young man suffered cuts while running for shelter. He was taken to Kaplan hospital in light condition. 

15:55 Code Red siren warnings of incoming rockets in Sderot and the Sha'ar Hanegev region. 

15:46 IAF pilots targeted a Hamas cell Tuesday as it fired rockets on southern Israel. Hamas reported two dead in the strike. No civilians were hurt. 

15:32 A rocket hit a home in the Eshkol region on Tuesday afternoon. No injuries were reported. 

15:21  Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi, accompanied by 10 Arab ministers, crossed into Gaza on Tuesday on a solidarity visit, the Hamas government announced. 

15:14   Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi says Egypt's Morsi says Israeli “aggression” to end Tuesday, indicating a ceasefire is imminent. 

15:04  The attack was claimed by Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, which said it had fired "an M75 rocket at the occupied city of Jerusalem." 

14:56  IDF artillery is targeting terrorist targets following the missile attack near Jerusalem. Two Hamas terrorists were hit, and 30 missile launchers were bombed. The IDF also struck the residence of a Hamas commander, where weapons were being stored.  

14:49  Code Red siren warnings of incoming rockets in Ashkelon and surrounding area. 

14:46  Code Red siren warnings of incoming rockets in Gaza Belt communities. 

14:38  Three rockets hit a kibbutz in the Eshkol region, critically wounding at least one person, and there are fears that several young people, possibly children, are trapped in debris. 

14:30  A rocket exploded in an open area near an Arab village in Gush Etzion around 2:15 p.m. as sirens wailed in Jerusalem.  

14:14  Multiple warnings of missiles in Jerusalem and Gush Etzion 

14:09 Hamas’ leader Khaled Mashaal charges an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza is a bluff. “If you wanted to launch it, you would have done it.” 

14:00 Rocket damages home in Gaza Belt area. Possibility of victims trapped in rubble. 

13:48 More Red Code siren warnings of incoming rockets and missiles on Ofakim, Negev moshavim and kibbutzim and areas north of Be’er Sheva.  

13:25  Code Red early warning siren for incoming rockets on Ofakim and Be’er Sheva. 

13:09   A rocket shelter saved the life of a Be’er Sheva woman whose house was destroyed by as Grad missile. She was not injured. 

12:55  A Kassam rocket exploded in the yard of a house in Sderot, causing damage. No one was injured. 

12:53  Code Red early warning siren for incoming rocket on Sderot and surrounding area. 

12:50  Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" and “occupying the Palestinian territory step by step.” 

12:45  German Foreign Minister Westerwelle tells Netanyahu a ceasefire is needed but “there is one key condition for everything else, and that is the stop of the missile attacks against Israel.” 

12:42  Code Red early warning siren for rocket in the area of Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, near Ashkelon. 

12:34  Israel put on hold a Gaza ground offensive to give truce talks a chance as top diplomats to press for a ceasefire, AFP reports. 

12:25  "All sides must halt fire immediately," United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in Egypt. He is to fly later to Israel. 

12:08  Code Red early warning siren in Sderot and surrounding kibbutzim and moshavim. 

12:07 Hamas has “no compunction whatsoever at firing on our civilians,” Netanyahu tells visiting German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. 

12:04  The Air Force resumes aerial bombings of terrorist targets in northern Gaza. 

12:00  A Reservist suffered light wounds from shrapnel after Gaza terrorist rocket exploded near his base in the Negev. 

11:56  Code Red warning of incoming missile on Kiryat Malachi, located halfway between Be’er Sheva and Tel Aviv. 

11:54  Code Red warning of incoming missile on Ashkelon after short lull of rocket fire. 

11:44  The attack at the US Embassy in Tel Aviv was not connected to terror, authorities said. 

11:33 The US Embassy attacker was identified as a 41-year-old Jew from Bat Yam, a city adjacent to Tel Aviv. His motives not yet known. 

11:28 An axe-wielding attacker lightly wounded a guard at the US Embassy in Tel Aviv Tuesday morning and was arrested. 

11:24  U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro told Army Radio the Obama administration has not told Israel it must not carry out a ground incursion into Gaza. 

11:18  Knesset Member Gilad Erdan of Likud says if there is truce, Israel must respond  to a single rocket attack as if a major assault. 

11:17  An armed man shot and wounded a guard at the US Embassy in Tel Aviv Tuesday morning and was arrested. 

10:47  Massive rocket force forces IDF to close Kerem Shalom crossing, where 12- trucks wait to bring goods and merchandise to Gaza. 



10:33  Another barrage of missiles. Sirens sound as far north as Kiryat Malachi, halfway between Be’er Sheva and Tel Aviv. 

10:31  Israel needs to send IDF ground forces into Gaza to destroy Hamas’ military, say Prof. Efraim Inbar and Dr. Max Singer. 

10:28  The missile that struck a building in Be’er Sheva n the morning is identified as a private home. Heavy damage. No known injuries, but wreckage being checked. 

10:23  One person was seriously wounded from a Hamas rocket in the Eshkol region in the Western Negev. 

10:20  Early warning siren of incoming missile on Be’er Sheva. Hamas has attacked Israel with dozens of missiles this morning. 

9:59  Additional Code Red warning sirens in the Western Negev amid reports that Israel is holding off on a ground incursion prior to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’ visit. 

9:49  Multiple Code Red early warning sirens for incoming rockets and missiles in Be’er Sheva and Gaza Belt communities. 

9:36  A U.S. official said Obama is sending U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Israel and Egypt on Gaza crisis mission, AFP reports. 

9:34  Code Red early warning siren for incoming missile on Kerem Shalom community near Gaza. 

9:23  Israel puts 'temporary hold' on plans for Gaza ground operation, according to sources quoted by AFP. 

9:22  Air Force resumes aerial bombings of terrorist targets in Gaza. 

9:07  Early warning siren of incoming missile on Sderot, located less than one mile from northern Gaza. 

9:02  Hizbullah is supplying more missiles to Hamas at the same time Israel’s Iron Dome system is intercepting them after launching, the Lebanon-based Al-Akhbar newspaper reports. 

8:50  The Iron Dome system blew up two incoming missiles in the area of the port of Ashdod, north of Ashkelon. 

8:44  Code Red early warning siren for incoming missile on Ashdod and nearby Gan Yavneh. 

8:41  Bus driver saved dozens of lives by urging passengers to get off bus before missile hit 30 seconds hit early warning siren. 

8:35  One person lightly wounded in rocket attack next to Be’er Sheva bus. Missile also damaged building and parked car. 

8:21  Code Red early warning siren for incoming missiles on Ashkelon and Gaze Belt communities. 

8:18  Missile hits bus in Be’er Sheva. No serious injuries. 

8:02 The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts eight missiles and rockets launched at the Be’er Sheva area. 

7:58  Multiple early warning sirens for incoming missiles on communities between Be’er Sheva and Kiryat Gat. 

7:57  Code Red early warning siren for incoming missiles on Be’er Sheva and Ofakim. 

7:52  Peres said Iran is “out of its mind” for encouraging Arabs to continue missile attacks rather than negotiate a ceasefire. 

7:48  The “journalist” that Hamas said was killed in an Air Force strike Monday was none other than its southern Gaza commander, says the IDF. 

7:30  Terrorists fire missile at Be’er Sheva after night of quiet.