The Al-Quds Brigades confirmed Friday morning that it "launched a large, focused and developed missile strike against the occupied territories in response to the brutal Zionist aggression."
Local reports suggest at least 59 rockets were fired by militants toward Ashkelon, Sderot, Ashdod and Be’er Sheva.
Social media footage recorded in the city of Be'er Sheva shows the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepting several rockets.
Meanwhile Palestinian factions managed to fire 50 rockets into Israel from Gaza as they were getting bombarded
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) May 13, 2021
Iron Dome interception over Beer Shevapic.twitter.com/NAJRTvNSJL
Meanwhile, alarms were sounded in several nearby areas, including Segev Shalom and the Bedouin Diaspora.
🚨Red Alert in #Israel🚨#צבע_אדום
— Aleph א 🔎 (@no_itsmyturn) May 13, 2021
01:03 Local / 22:03Z
Segev Shalom and the Bedouin Diaspora, Moladah, Al-Sayyid and the Bedouin diaspora, Omer, Tel Sheva, Umm Batin and the Bedouin Diaspora pic.twitter.com/wYOTrpx6SV
Moments after the IDF announced its air and ground strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin issued a tweet proclaiming the "operation will continue as long as necessary," according to an English language translation from Hebrew.
Video uploaded to Twitter showed IDF Tanks moving fences along the border with Gaza.
#Breaking: Update - IDF tanks are now moving over the fence in the the #Gaza strip right now, for a possible soon ground offensive from #Israel. pic.twitter.com/IkWoBvqPWD
— Sotiri Dimpinoudis (@Sotiridi1) May 13, 2021
It's worth noting that the IDF's ground forces did not enter Gaza, according to an updated memo from the military force.
