Israel Strikes Hamas Military Compound In Response To Gaza Rocket Fire
JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli airstrike hit a Hamas military compound in southern Gaza in response to a rocket fired hours earlier at southern Israel.
The attack early on Tuesday morning reportedly caused damage to the facility.
The attack came hours after a rocket launched from Gaza landed in an open field in southern Israel. The Code Red alert siren did not go off since it was determined that the rocket was heading to an unpopulated area. A second rocket fired Monday evening reportedly landed inside of Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces said in announcing the Gaza strike Tuesday that, despite the fact that a small terrorist group actually launched the rocket, “The IDF holds Hamas accountable for events in Gaza.”
Dozens of rockets and mortars have been fired from Gaza on southern Israel since U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Dec. 6 that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel has struck at least 40 Hamas targets in Gaza in recent weeks, in response to criticism from Labor Party head Avi Gabbay that Netanyahu has failed to stop the rocket fire and for not taking stronger action against Gaza.
Also on Tuesday, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot criticized politicians who have said that the IDF is not taking strong enough action against Hamas in the face of the rocket attacks from Gaza.
“These statements to respond with maximal force to rocket fire are irresponsible. It is not the right thing to do,” Eisenkot said during a speech at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30