Five rockets launched towards Israel from Gaza, causing minor damage to Sderot homes
Israel responded to the rockets with an air strike on Hamas munitions production facilities, ‘significantly impeding Hamas’ efforts to intensify the conflict,’ as operation in Jenin comes to an end
Smoke and flames rise above buildings after Israeli air airstrikes in Gaza City, on July 5, 2023. Israel carried out air strikes on the Gaza Strip in response to rockets fired from the Palestinian coastal enclave, the army said. Photo by Getty Images
This article originally appeared on Haaretz, and was reprinted here with permission. Sign up here to get Haaretz’s free Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox.
Five rockets were launched overnight Wednesday from the Gaza Strip towards Israel in the wake of the operation in Jenin, all intercepted by the Iron Dome.
In response, Israel targeted what it said was an underground Hamas manufacturing facility for weapons, and another for rockets.
“This strike significantly impeded the Hamas terrorist organization’s intensification and armament efforts,” the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement. “The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization responsible for all terror activities emanating from the Gaza Strip and will face the consequences of security violations against Israel,” it added.
Though intercepted by the Iron Dome, a fragment of one rocket hit a home in Sderot in Israel’s south, close to the border with Gaza. No one was injured, but there was minor damage to the house.
Another piece of an intercepted rocket was found in the yard of a house in Sderot, causing some damage but no injuries.
This rocket fire was the first from the Gaza Strip since the fighting with Islamic Jihad in May.
The operation in Jenin ended on Wednesday with the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Jenin refugee camp. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that “The operation was successful, the camp lost capabilities and our situation is better, but we paid a heavy price.” Hagari was referring to the death of a soldier in the Egoz unit, Sergeant-Major David Yehuda Yitzhak, who was killed by live fire as the troops were withdrawing.
Earlier, one Palestinian was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a cemetery in Jenin, marking the 12th casualty of the operation in the city, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported.
On Tuesday night, Israeli Border Police and local police forces began prepping for violent responses in east Jerusalem. They had already received reports of Palestinians throwing stones at private buses in the a-Tur neighborhood in Jerusalem that resulted in light injuries to passengers.
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