IDF said to strike Gaza terror targets in response to second rocket in 48 hours
The Israeli military reportedly struck targets in the Gaza Strip after midnight on Thursday in response to a rocket fired from the Hamas-controlled enclave hours earlier, which landed near a home in the southern city of Sderot.
The rocket attack was the second since Monday after almost four months period of quiet on the Gaza border. It came at the tail-end of a tension-filled day in Jerusalem, where Israeli nationalists were prevented by police from marching through the Old City’s Damascus Gate, a popular gathering point for Palestinians. Hamas, the terror group that rules the Gaza Strip, had threatened to attack if the march went ahead.
Palestinian media reports said a site in central Gaza operated by Palestinian factions was struck multiple times in the Wednesday air raid. Footage showed smoke rising from the site following a series of strikes.
There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces on the attack. The military generally issues a statement once it has concluded a series of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.
Wednesday evening’s rocket attack caused damage to a car and a wall near a home in Sderot. The rocket apparently landed outside of the city, but a large piece of shrapnel ricocheted and struck near the home. According to Hebrew-language media reports, hundreds of ball bearings that were loaded into the rocket were found at the scene.
There was no immediate claim by any of the Gaza-based terror groups for the rocket fire on Wednesday and on Monday, though Monday’s attack was blamed on the Palestinian Islamic Jihad by several media reports. According to the Kan public broadcaster, the Israeli security establishment believes the earlier rocket was launched by radicals within Islamic Jihad who were acting alone and that Hamas is unable to clamp down on such rogue actors even when it wants to.
Hamas’ Isal batran site, central Gaza pic.twitter.com/sgv51tg7j6
— Aleph א ???????? (@no_itsmyturn) April 20, 2022
Following Monday’s rocket, the IDF said that it bombed a number of targets, including a site used by Hamas to manufacture weapons in the Gaza Strip.
In the past, Israel has responded with airstrikes against Hamas sites regardless of the identity of the group launching the attack. More rarely, it has directed its response at Islamic Jihad, if the terror group claimed responsibility.
فيديو يوثق الغارات الإسرائيلية على موقع للمقاومة وسط قطاع غزة pic.twitter.com/cwHk2VQiNF
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) April 20, 2022
Recent days have seen violent clashes between Palestinian rioters and police on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, leading to the injury of dozens of Palestinians and several police officers.
Hamas and other Gaza-based terror groups have repeatedly invoked the flashpoint holy site as a red line. Police actions to quell riots there last year were among the triggers of an 11-day war in Gaza last May.