An IDF spokesman announced early Monday morning that two rockets that had been launched from the northern Gaza Strip in the direction of Ashdod fell into the Mediterranean sea and there were no resulting incidents or damage, nor was the red alert activated.
Following the launch of the two rockets, IAF fighter jets attacked Hamas terrorist targets in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the IDF’s Spokesperson, the Air Force attacked “workshops teaching tunnel-digging operated by the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.”
A rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip in late December but did not cross into Israeli territory. The red alert was activated in Kibbutz Kerem Shalom on the Gaza border. A week earlier, two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Ashkelon, and were intercepted by an iron dome. One resident, 20, suffered an anxiety attack and was evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in the city. In response, the IDF attacked a rocket manufacturing site, underground infrastructure, and a Hamas military post.
Hamas blamed Islamic State jihad for the launches three weeks ago, claiming that the launch was carried out “contrary to the agreement and understandings reached between the factions in the joint command,” and without an order from the high command of the Islamic Jihad.
The IDF Spokesperson said on Monday morning that the army “takes very seriously any terrorist activity against Israel and is ready to act with the required determination against attempts to harm Israeli citizens and the country’s sovereignty. The terrorist organization Hamas bears responsibility for what is happening in and out of the Gaza Strip, and it will bear the consequences of the terrorist acts against the citizens of Israel.”
Another option would have been to teach them a lesson they won’t forget, which would surely lead to tightening those command controls inside Hamas and the Jihad, but, obviously, that’s unthinkable.