Photo Credit: Abed Rahim Khatib / Flash 90
Smoke and fire rises following an Israeli air strike in the southern Gaza Strip (file)

The Israel Air Force struck Hamas terror targets in northern Gaza overnight Wednesday into Thursday, in retaliation for a rocket that was fired on Tuesday from the enclave, and which landed in the Mediterranean Sea near Ashdod.

The air strikes were also carried out in response to the continued terror attacks with explosive (Molotov cocktail) balloons and arson balloons launched by terrorists from the enclave into Israeli territory earlier in the day. The attacks fired from Gaza on Wednesday caused large fires in southern Israel.

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Two of the fires were set in the Eshkol Regional Council district on the eve of Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day as the result of firebombs (Molotov cocktails) attached to terror balloons launched from Gaza.

The firebombs landed in a forest in one of the towns in Eshkol, setting it ablaze. Numerous firefighter teams from the KKL-JNF, the Regional Brigade and the nearby communities arrived at the scene to fight the flames.

A second blaze broke out within a short time in another area of the district under similar circumstances, but was extinguished shortly after.

“We hold Hamas responsible,” the IDF said in a statement.

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Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.