A member of the security cabinet explained this morning (Wednesday) why no significant response is expected from the IDF to the rocket barrage from Gaza last night.
"Netanyahu is afraid of pictures of citizens fleeing to shelters on Seder night, so no significant reaction is expected," a cabinet member told journalist Kobi Bornstein.
In the meantime, opposition members are calling on Netanyahu to convene the political and security cabinet that has not been convened for two months.
"In light of the security situation, I call on the prime minister to urgently convene the political and security cabinet. Convening the cabinet is not voluntary and under the existing circumstances it is required by law," MK Avigdor Liberman of Yisrael Beytenu was quoted as saying.
"I expect that after all the slogans and talk about the establishment of a 'right-wing' government, they will also take some kind of action. The residents of southern Israel also deserve to celebrate Seder tonight safely and quietly," he added.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid was not in favor of the move, however. "Unlike others, I would not recommend that Netanyahu convene the cabinet. Nothing good for Israel's security will come of a cabinet made of irresponsible extremists and chronic defectors like Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. It is better to manage the difficult security reality in smaller and tighter forums," he wrote.
Last night, terrorists operating in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip fired 16 rockets towards Israel, prompting the IDF to retaliate with strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza.
Sirens were sounded early Wednesday morning in communities located near the border with the Gaza Strip and in Sderot.
The city of Sderot said one of the rockets that were fired landed near a factory. There were no injuries, but the factory sustained damage.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that in the first barrage, five launches from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory were detected. Four were intercepted by Israel's air defense systems. In the second barrage, four additional launches from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory were detected and fell in open areas.
Another rocket exploded in an open area near Kibbutz Yad Mordechai.
Six more rockets were later fired towards Israel for a total of 16 recorded launches.
According to an IDF spokesperson, IDF fighter jets bombed a Hamas military compound in the northern Gaza Strip. The compound was used as a terrorist training facility, the army said.
IDF tanks additionally struck Hamas military posts along the border with Gaza.
The latest escalation followed violent clashes that broke out at Al-Aqsa Mosque, during an attempt by police officers to evacuate Muslim worshipers who were holed up in the mosque.
The Islamic Jihad terrorist organization said that it is closely monitoring what is happening at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Muslim worshipers who were in the mosque called on the Al-Qassam Brigades to launch rockets towards Israel in response to the incident.