BICOM

At around 7am this morning, a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel. Although no casualties or damage was reported, it was the latest in persistent periodic rocket fire aimed at Israel.

The rocket landed in open space in the Eshkol region. The area’s rocket warning system was not activated as it was calculated that the projectile would land without causing damage. However, security forces are reportedly scouring the area for remnants of the rocket. Although the ceasefire which ended Operation Protective Edge in summer 2014 has largely held firm, rockets have continued to be fired irregularly from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into Israel. Last Tuesday, a rocket landed near the Gaza border, prompting Israel’s Air Force to strike two strategic Hamas sites in Gaza.

The IDF says that at least 19 Gaza rockets have reached Israeli territory since January. There has been a particular uptick in rocket attacks since May, and in September the Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted a rocket heading for the major Israeli city of Ashdod, while another major population centre, Ashkelon, was also targeted soon after.

Much of the recent rocket fire has been claimed by the radical Salafist group the Omar Brigade, which is sympathetic towards ISIS. The Omar Brigade has made clear that its attacks serve a dual purpose – targeting Israelis while challenging Hamas’s authority in Gaza. Nobody has yet taken responsibility for this morning’s rocket attack.

However, Israel routinely holds Hamas responsible for rockets fired from territory under its administration. Hamas is thought to be rearming following last summer’s conflict and there have been widespread reports of rocket testing and the construction of fresh tunnels to attack Israeli forces and civilians, which were a major feature of Operation Protective Edge.

In a separate development, senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders are reported to have met over the weekend in Beirut and pledged support for the current Palestinian violence which has killed 20 Israelis since the start of October.