After several days of relative quiet, Palestinian rocket fire has returned to Israel’s south, triggering a strong response from the IDF.
By: United with Israel Staff
Gaza-based Palestinian terrorists on Saturday night launched several rockets at Israel’s civilian population in the south, triggering alarms and sending thousands of civilians running for shelter.
The terrorists fired six rockets at the city of Sderot, the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council, the Eshkol Regional Council and the Hof Ashkelon and Lakhish Regional Councils throughout the night. The Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted four of the projectiles, while one exploded in an open area and another fell inside Gaza.
No Israelis were harmed, and no damage was caused by the projectiles.
In response to the renewed fire on Israel, Israel Air Force (IAF) fighter jets targeted 10 terror sites in three military compounds belonging to the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip. Among the targets were two Hamas munitions-manufacturing and storage sites and a military compound.
Later in the night, as the rocket attacks on Israel continued, IAF fighters bombed five terror targets at a military compound belonging to Hamas’s naval force in northern Gaza.
On Sunday, Palestinians from Gaza breached the border fence and torched construction equipment within Israeli territory, after which they fled back to the Strip, the army reported.
The assailants set fire to shipping containers belonging to civilian contractors working on the security barrier and damaged Israeli “security infrastructure” close to the border.
Hamas Will ‘Continue Paying a Heavy Price’
The IDF stated that the strikes were conducted in response to the rocket fire and to the “various terror activities” on Israel’s border with Gaza, orchestrated by Hamas, over the weekend.
These terror activities included the planting of a grenade on the border, hurling explosive devices at IDF forces securing the border, attempts to cross the security fence, damaging security infrastructure, and the igniting of some 40 fires in Israeli territory with the use of arson kites and balloons.
“The weekend’s events are a continuation of Hamas’ repeated attempts to turn the area next to the security fence into a violent zone both above and below ground, conduct terror attacks, damage security infrastructure and endanger lives of Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers,” the IDF charged.
“The IDF views these ongoing attempts with great severity and is determined to fulfill its mission to protect and ensure the safety of Israeli civilians as needed,” the IDF stated, noting that “Hamas is solely responsible for all events that transpire in the Gaza Strip and emanate from it. If Hamas continues relying on terror instead of solving the issues that plague Gazan civilians, it will continue paying a heavy price that will increase as necessary.”
Saturday night’s violence and Sunday’s infiltration incident occurred after several days of quiet. The tensions on Israel’s border with Gaza flared up on Tuesday when terrorists fired more than 100 projectiles at Israel, the worst bombardment Israel has experienced since Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014.
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