IDF strikes Hamas military compound after rocket from Gaza
ANNA AHRONHEIM
Sirens sound multiple times in Sderot throughout Wednesday night • IDF also struck infrastructure of rocket manufacturing structure
The Israeli Air Force struck targets in the Gaza Strip overnight on Thursday in response to earlier rocket fire launched towards southern Israel.
The first rocket fired from Gaza occurred around 10:30 p.m., with a rocket damaging a parked car and a wall near a home in the college city of Sderot.
The rocket did not explode but several people were treated for shock including a 70-year-old man. Sappers handled the rocket fragment found at the scene along with Israel Fire and Rescue Services firefighting crews.
The Iron Dome missile defense system was not activated.
In response, the IDF said that fighter jets targeted a military post and a tunnel complex in the Hamas-run enclave “containing raw chemicals used for the manufacturing of rocket engines.”
The IDF said that the strike dealt “a significant blow” to the rocket production process in Gaza.
During the airstrikes, terrorists in the Strip fired anti-aircraft missiles, the second time in a row that such a system was used.
On Tuesday during retaliatory Israeli strikes on the coastal enclave, Hamas fired a Russian-made Strela (SA-7) shoulder-to-air missile.
The IDF said that the attempts to hit the planes, both on Tuesday and Thursday, failed and no damage had been caused.
Despite initial reports suggesting four rockets were fired toward Sderot during the overnight strikes, the IDF said only one rocket was actually launched, stating all other instances of sirens sounding in southern Israel throughout the night were due to machine-gun fire from Gaza. Another rocket landed within the Gaza Strip, the IDF added.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett must respond to the attack, Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi said at the scene. “It was a miracle no one was hurt. It is the government’s responsibility to ensure Sderot residents can enjoy the Passover holiday in peace,” the mayor added.
During a visit on Tuesday afternoon to the Judea and Samaria Border Police, Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned that Israel would not allow for continued rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave.
“The IDF is ready with a wide range of means and targets – so that peace and stability will continue,” he said.
“If the incitement and rocket fire continues – the terrorist organizations will be severely harmed, as will the people of Gaza, who are currently benefiting from the moves we have made to develop the economy and allow them to work in Israel,” he warned. “These are moves that we will expand if the stability continues or we can go backward, if the Hamas leaders decide to harm it.”
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