Terrorist groups in Gaza fired two rockets at southern Israel late Wednesday and early Thursday, each attracting a separate IDF response, the largest exchange of fire since last May’s 11-day war.
The first launch from Gaza was around 10:30 p.m., with shrapnel from a rocket hitting a parked car and a wall near a home in the town of Sderot. Hundreds of ball bearings were found at the site, which were loaded into the rocket.
Less than three hours later, the IDF said it had responded with air strikes in central Gaza aimed at a military post, as well as a tunnel complex “containing crude chemicals used to make rocket engines.” The IDF said its strike had dealt a significant blow to the missile production process in Gaza.
For the second time this week, the Islamic State said Hamas aimed its anti-aircraft missiles at the time of the attack.
Shortly after 2:00 a.m., Gaza terrorists fired a second volley of missiles, this time from more than one projectile.
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The Iron Dome missile defense system has managed to intercept all four missiles, according to the army.
Watch this video carefully.
This is Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, which intercepts incoming missiles fired by terrorists in Gaza at the homes of innocent Israeli families who hoped to sleep peacefully tonight.
All missiles were successfully intercepted. pic.twitter.com/03mjTlQMDv
– Keren Hadjioff (@kerenhajioff) April 20, 2022
The burst was followed by additional red alert sirens in Gaza’s border towns, which the ISIS later said were triggered by gunfire, according to earlier reports in the Palestinian media about armed men in the Strip shooting Israeli planes. .
The military said it had responded to a missile volley, as well as an earlier anti-aircraft missile strike, by hitting a compound used by Hamas air defense forces.
No Israeli was directly hit by the rocket fire, but two people were slightly injured in falls that occurred while fleeing to bomb shelters. Both were evacuated to nearby hospitals for further treatment, according to Magen’s ambulance David Adom.
No Gaza group has immediately claimed responsibility for any of the night’s launches, as has been the case since Monday’s first rocket launch. However, several media reports citing Israeli security officials have identified Hamas rival Palestinian Islamic Jihad as responsible for Monday’s rocket attack.
Nevertheless, the ISIS responded to the first rocket launch of the week with an air strike on a number of Hamas military sites in Gaza, including one used by Hamas to make weapons.
The military said in an early statement Thursday that it holds Hamas responsible for what is happening in the Gaza Strip, adhering to its longstanding rationale for targeting posts belonging to the ruling enclave group in response to rocket fire, whether its fighters were behind the launches or no.
قصف عنيف وسط قطاع غزة # غزه_تقاوم # غزة_تحت_القصف pic.twitter.com/x6Yy1vbtVi
– حسن اصليح | Hassan (@hassaneslayeh) April 20, 2022
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassim said early Thursday that “the bombing of Gaza will increase the tenacity of our people and their resistance to continue the struggle and escalate support and assistance for our people in Jerusalem.”
The rocket attacks this week ended a nearly four-month period of calm on the Gaza border. The rocket attack came amid a tense day in Jerusalem on Wednesday, when Israeli nationalists were prevented by police from marching through the Damascus Gate in the Old City, a popular gathering place for Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Hamas threatened to attack if the march continued.
فيديو يوثق الغارات السرائيلية على موقع للمقاومة وسط قطاع غزة pic.twitter/QiNF2.com.
– وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) April 20, 2022
Violent clashes between Palestinian rebels and Jerusalem Temple police in Jerusalem have been reported in recent days, injuring dozens of Palestinians and several police officers.
Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups have repeatedly referred to the holy site of ignition as a red line. Police actions to quell riots there last year were among the causes of an 11-day war in Gaza last May.
Aaron Boxerman contributed to this report
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