- I'm here in the Israelicoastal town of Ashkelon,

about five miles from the Gaza border

where Islamic terroristshave been shooting rockets

at Israeli towns and citiessince the early morning hours.

So far, more than 150rockets have been launched

at surrounding communities.

That's sending Israelisrunning for shelter.

Israel's Iron Dome interceptedabout 60 of the rockets

but some have caused damage,

and a number of injurieswere reported, but no deaths.

Gaza terrorists unleashedthose barrages of rockets

early Tuesday after Israel killed

a senior Islamic Jihad leader

in a targeted strike overnight.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] In the past year,

this archterrorist was the main generator

of terrorism from the Strip.

He initiated, planned, andcarried out many attacks.

He fired hundreds ofrockets at communities

in the Gaza periphery whosesuffering we haven't ignored.

He was in the midst ofplotting additional attacks

these very days; he was a ticking bomb.

- Israel responded to the rocket attacks

by launching further airstrikeson terror targets in Gaza.

The IDF said Islamic JihadAbu Al-Ata was responsible

for launching rockets at Israel,

sending killer drones, and sniper attacks,

against Israeli soldiers.

They described him as a ticking time bomb

that was planning an imminent attack.

Also overnight, Syrianmedia reported an airstrike

against the head ofIslamic Jihad in Syria.

Israel did not comment on this strike,

but analysts said he was the leader

directing operations in Gaza,

and Islamic Jihad is backed by Iran.

Israel responded to the rocket attacks

by launching further airstrikeson terror targets in Gaza.

Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu said

the Security Cabinet hadvoted unanimously days ago

to carry out the operation in Gaza.

It was planned to inflict minimum damage

on the civilians in Gaza,

and was intended to save Israeli lives.

He said Israel would do all itneeds to do to defend itself.

The latest round of violencecomes as Israeli politicians

are struggling to form a newgovernment after two elections.

Israeli President ReuvenRivlin called on Israelis

to stand united for securityand put politics aside.

I'm Chris Mitchell reporting from Ashkelon

near the Israeli-Gaza border.