A rocket launched from the Gaza Strip struck an open field south of the coastal city of Ashkelon on Wednesday night, the second attack in three days.
The alert siren was not sounded as the missile was headed toward an unpopulated area, and no injuries or damages were reported by the IDF.
The missile attack came only three days after a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip towards southern Israel. Israeli Air Force Jets retaliated by striking five Hamas strategic targets in Gaza on Monday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not tolerate a “drizzle” of rockets from the Gaza Strip “without a response”.
Following Israel’s response, Abu Obedia, the official spokesperson of Hamas threatened on Tuesday: “The enemy only understands the language of force, and sometimes silence is interpreted as weakness by the enemy. Therefore, any aggression along the lines of what happened yesterday, the resistance, headed by the Qassam Brigades, will have their say”.
The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace process Nickolay Mladenov condemned the Gaza rocket attacks against Israel, stating that “such provocations seek only to undermine peace”.
In addition, an IDF engineering vehicle operating close to the Gaza security border was hit by gunfire on Thursday morning. The Israeli military responded by targeting two Hamas observation positions, north of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry said that it had not received any reports of Palestinian injuries.
According to reports, the series of recent rocket attacks against Israel from Gaza is the result of heightened tension between Hamas and extremist Salafist groups in the Strip. Israel holds Hamas ultimately responsible for all attacks from the territory as the terrorist group is the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip.
