A total of twenty rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza since early Wednesday, with fifteen fired in the past three hours.
Hamas terrorists have fired 18 mortar shells and two Kassam rocket into the Eshkol and Sha'ar HaNegev regions Wednesday. No damage and no injuries have been reported.
Two additional rockets were fired on Israel close to 8:00 pm IST; both were shot down by the Iron Dome.
Additional explosions have been heard throughout the day. It is possible that additional rockets have been fired, but fell short of Israeli soil.
A continuous rain of rockets have been fired on Israel this week.
Fifteen rockets were fired over Sunday night and Monday morning from Gaza, prompting Israeli security forces to announce that Hamas was directly behind the rocket fire - the first official announcement since the end of the counter-terror Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012.
Last week, several rockets caused a massive fire at a plastics factory in Sderot. Four workers managed to escape the factories before they were set ablaze.
Hamas has not taken responsibility for the rocket fire.
Wednesday's rocket fire increased just hours after Hamas vowed revenge on Israel, after international media and Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas accused Israelis of taking "revenge" on a Palestinian Arab teen following the horrific murders of teenagers Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Sha'ar, and Eyal Yifrah.
According to Walla! News, the IAF has begun responding to the rocket fire, and have eliminated one terror target. The IDF has not confirmed this retaliatory strike yet.
Tensions escalate
16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khder was found in the Jerusalem Forest earlier Wednesday after allegedly being forced into a black car outside Beit Hanina.
Israeli leaders - including the mayor of Jerusalem and Prime Minister Netanyahu - rushed to condemn the murder, after rumor circulated that it was the work of Jewish extremists looking for "revenge" over the abduction and murder of three Israeli teens Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Sha'ar and Eyal Yifrah.
Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, as well as some in the international media, have since repeated those claims as fact. But Israeli police have said it is far from clear at this point whether the attack was "nationalistic" or "criminal" in nature, and urged "responsibility" over reporting on it. without specifying further.
One retired police officer familiar with the family involved and the Beit Hanina area who spoke to Arutz Sheva on condition of anonymity Wednesday afternoon stated that in his opinion the murder is most likely the work of internal clashes within the boy's family.
But those claims remain unconfirmed as well, and the police investigation into the killing is still ongoing.
Meanwhile, the news has led to an immense show of violence, with Israeli Arabs rioting throughout Jerusalem and lobbing bombs and projectiles at police officers.