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Day: May 26, 2024
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NPR News: 05-26-2024 8AM EDT
A massive barrage of rockets targeted Tel Aviv and central Israel for the first time in months. The rockets were fired from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
The IDF confirmed on Sunday that eight projectiles were identified crossing the Rafah area into Israeli territory. A number of the projectiles were intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array, the IDF announced.
תיעוד: רסיס רקטה נפל בהרצליה(אורלי אלקלעי) pic.twitter.com/Vf99CBkG5m
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 26, 2024
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, with the al-Qassm Brigade, Hamas’s military wing, claiming that they fired the barrage in response to ongoing IDF operations in the Gaza Strip.
BREAKING: At least 12 rockets fired from #Gaza towards central #Israel. No reports of physical injuries or damage so far. pic.twitter.com/xYW0Ouxpx6
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) May 26, 2024
As a result of the rocket fire, loud booms were heard across Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, Herzliya, and Ramat Hasharon.
Graphic of the recent rocket barrage by Hamas into Tel Aviv and central Israel, May 26, 2024 (credit: FLASH90)
The rockets were fired from launchers located hundreds of meters from IDF soldiers in the Gaza Strip, Army Radio noted.
Rescue forces are looking into reports of a rocket landing in the Tel Aviv area. Both MDA and Israel Police said there have not been any reported injuries yet.
Shrapnel hit a parked car in Herzliya. MDA also announced that one person was slightly injured by shrapnel in Herzliya, Israeli media reported.
תיעוד: נפילה בשטח פתוח בקיבוץ יקום בשרון@galdjerassi pic.twitter.com/a44N4pRGg6
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) May 26, 2024
Other rocket attacks on Sunday
The barrage towards central Israel follows earlier anti-tank missiles launched towards Margaliot and Menara in northern Israel from Lebanese territory, with one missile falling in an open area, Israeli media reported.
Massive Gaza rocket barrage targets Tel Aviv, central Israel – The Jerusalem Post https://t.co/baFpcWQA7n
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) May 26, 2024
On May 26, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly issued a statement calling for immediate withdrawal of the law on Foreign Agents. The NATO PA stresses that “if the Government and Parliament want to demonstrate Georgia’s readiness to join NATO in the future, they must return onto the path of democratic reform and democratic consolidation.”
The statement reads: “The NATO PA remains firmly committed to Georgia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, democracy and aspiration to join NATO. We recognised Georgia as a candidate country on the understanding that NATO membership is the path that Georgia and the Georgian people have chosen and enshrined in their Constitution. However, shared democratic values are the very foundation of the NATO Alliance and respect for these values is an essential condition for becoming a NATO member.”
NATO PA emphasizes that the law on Foreign Agents “is a step backwards for Georgia’s democracy and runs counter to its NATO as well as EU aspirations and values” and if the President’s veto is overturned and the law is fully passed, “it will severely damage freedom of speech and association and undermine Georgia’s vibrant civil society and media landscape.”
The NATO PA underscores that by the reintroduction of the law Georgian government broke its promise to its people and international partners and has now responded with “unacceptable violence” towards peoples’ protests and has “chosen to ignore the clear and consistent calls from their closest partners,” which is why Georgia now stands at crossroads.
“If the Government and Parliament want to demonstrate Georgia’s readiness to join NATO in the future, they must return onto the path of democratic reform and democratic consolidation. This law, which the Georgian president has vetoed, must now be withdrawn,” – NATO PA notes, adding: “The Georgian people have demonstrated again and again that they want a democratic Georgia – in the EU and in NATO. They have protested with courage against this legislation. We will continue to support them and their aspirations.”
The statement concludes with the Assembly affirming its readiness to continue to engage in dialogue with the Georgian delegation to convey these firm messages, but also to offer its full support to Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic path.
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