An IDF fighter jet and other aircraft attacked a number of terror targets overnight Thursday, in a military compound belonging to the Hamas terror organization in the northern Gaza Strip,” the IDF spokesperson reported, explaining that “the attack was carried out in response to rocket fire launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory earlier.”
“Red color” alarms were sounded Wednesday night at Kibbutz Zikim and Moshav Mavki’im in the Ashkelon Coastal Regional Council in the Gaza Strip envelope. The IDF has made it clear that these were false alarms which triggered unnecessary interceptions.
A 77-year-old woman sustained minor injuries in Zikim while running for shelter. She was evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.
Three actual rocket launches from Gaza into Israeli territory were identified Wednesday. A red color alarm was heard at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai and in Moshav Netiv Ha’Asara. No injuries were reported.
The Ashkelon Coastal Regional Council reported that a rocket fell in private yard, causing minor shrapnel damage. Another hit was identified in a greenhouses belonging to one of the council’s communities. Police sappers were called to the scene.
The background for the increasingly frequent recent rocket launches seems to be Hamas’ shrinking ability to curb the Islamic jihad and other rogue, Islamic groups in the Strip. In recent months there have been more jihad attacks on the fence and more rocket launches against Israel, indicating a weakening Hamas restraint as a result of internal pressure within the Strip.