With Al Jazeera already reporting civilian injuries, Gaza appears to be blacked out as the IDF continues to bomb several areas in the Strip.
The bombing apparently was triggered by a rocket fired from Gaza, and the bombing campaign going on as we speak appears to be targeted and sustained.
The live stream I linked to earlier has gone down, but you can follow Gaza residents updating right now in Twitter's Gaza search feed.
Here is the link to Al Jazeera article on tonight's injuries.
This bombing comes at a time when Israeli commentators have been worried about a possible military escalation with the ongoing social protests in the background and the Palestinians' attempt to be recognized as a state at the U.N. looming in September.
It appears Hamas has given Israel a reason to do exactly what many have feared might happen. This may portend things to come, as the worst on both sides from a militaristic standpoint (Israeli's hawkish right and Hamas) are both in an uncommon alliance in that they could both benefit from violence. Netanyahu's government to distract from the items mentioned above, and Hamas due to the faltering PA-Hamas unity deal that many in Hamas do not support.
----------------------------------------
Follow me on Twitter @David_EHG
----------------------------------------
I'll add updates when I have solid information. Please do so in the comments as well.
Author's Note 1: This note comes on 8/16, the morning after this diary was written, to note that overnight the rockets fired from Gaza were confirmed by IDF military sources, which overnight had not done so. Cheers everyone, and a hope that this flurry from last night is not escalated by either side.
Author's Note 2: The bombing appears to have stopped. A new report is now up from The Jerusalem Post, from which I offer the segment below:
Israeli air strikes launched on Tuesday killed one gunman and wounded five other people, Hamas medical sources said.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
The sources said three gunmen involved in firing rockets at Israel were hit in the first air strike, east of Gaza City, in a pre-dawn attack. One of the gunmen later died of his injuries, they said.
Three Palestinian civilians, among them a boy, were injured, the sources said, in a separate air strike that targeted a tunnel beneath Gaza's border with Egypt of a type Israel says is used to smuggle in weapons.
Hours earlier, a Palestinian rocket fired from Gaza fell outside of Beersheba on Monday night, activating air raid sirens and sending residents fleeing for cover.
A report is now up from Ma'an, which states:
Israeli aircraft targeted the central and southern Gaza Strip early Tuesday and injured three Palestinians, medics and witnesses said.
Medical officials at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City described the injuries as serious.
Another attack targeted Khan Younis in southern Gaza, a Ma'an correspondent reported. No injuries were reported.
An army spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Earlier, army officials said a grad rocket fired from Gaza exploded in an open area outside Beersheba, news reports said. There were no reports of injury or damage.
Also Monday, Israeli forces opened fire from a tower east of Khan Younis and injured a 20-year-old man in his leg, medical officials said. An army spokeswoman had no immediate comment.
Author's Note 3: Many in Gaza (at least the citizen journalists I follow) are going to sleep with the bombing still going on, but at an intermittent rate. As dawn rises soon (it's 5:21 a.m. there) this will surely stop and more information will be known. Casualties in Gaza are being reported.
Author's Note 4: Information is hard to come by, but it appears the military effort is being conducted both by air (targeted strikes) and along the border on the ground by the IDF. Multiple rockets reported to have been fired by militants from Gaza, though that has been unconfirmed as well. Israeli military officials currently have no comment.