Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning fired a rocket into Israel that landed in an open area, causing no injuries or damage, the IDF said.
The IDF said that as the rocket was detected to be heading to an open area in the Eshkol region, rocket warning sirens were not sounded, but people in the area were notified with text messages.
In response, the IDF said that its tanks shelled three “Hamas military positions in the northern Gaza Strip”. As de facto rulers of the Gaza Strip, Israel considers Hamas responsible for all activity emanating from the territory
In recent weeks, activity has quietened on the border, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
Israel and the Hamas terror group have also been negotiating a possible prisoner swap, reports say. The possibility of a deal with Hamas to return two Israeli captives — Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed — and the bodies of two IDF soldiers being held in the Gaza Strip has appeared to pick up momentum recently. The Israeli government’s chief negotiator for the release of Israelis held by Hamas last week updated families last week on the prisoner swap talks.
Hamas, has reportedly said that in order for such a deal to take place, Israel must first release all teenage, female and elderly prisoners in addition to those who were rearrested after the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner swap deal, when more than 1,000 terror convicts were freed in exchange for a single IDF soldier.
