IAF strikes underground Hamas target after Palestinians fire rocket into Israel
Israeli aircraft hit a Hamas underground facility in the Gaza Strip early Thursday after a rocket fired at southern Israel was shot down in the first such attack since Israel and terror groups in the coastal enclave fought a vicious two-day battle last month.
The Israel Defense Forces said its fighter jets bombed “underground terror infrastructure on a base belonging to the Hamas terror group in the southern Gaza Strip.”
The army said the strikes came in response to the rocket that was fired at Israel earlier in the night, noting that Israel holds the Gaza-ruling Hamas responsible for all violence emanating from the Strip.
Earlier in the night the Israeli military said it shot down a rocket from Gaza heading toward southern Israel shortly after midnight Wednesday.
The incoming projectile triggered sirens in the community of Nirim in the Eshkol region, east of Gaza, at approximately 12:15 a.m. on Thursday. Residents of the area reported hearing sounds of explosions.
“One launch was detected from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli territory. It was intercepted by Iron Dome soldiers,” the army said in a statement, referring to the air defense system.
Residents said the rocket caused no injuries or damage.
Read More: Times of Israel