BICOM

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) hit Hamas military targets in the Gaza Strip overnight after a missile was fired towards Ashkelon from Gaza.

The Israeli military said the Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted the missile, which was launched at 03:18 toward Ashkelon. In response, IAF fighter jets and helicopters attacked Hamas military sites including a Hamas training camp in the northern Gaza Strip. The IDF holds Hamas responsible for all missile attacks from the Gaza Strip. There were no reported injuries on either side.

Earlier on Sunday the IDF hit two Hamas military positions after an explosive device was launched in a drone from Gaza concealed in a large cluster of coloured balloons. The explosive landed in a carrot field in the Sdot Negev region and exploded as a bomb disposal robot examined it. Palestinian media reported that the IDF attacked a military post near Jabalia, in northern Gaza, and another in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City, in central Gaza.

The border between Israel and Gaza has been relatively quiet since 12 November when at least 460 rockets and missiles were fired into Israel and the IDF attacked more than 160 targets including buildings belonging to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) announced yesterday it was withdrawing personnel from the Rafah border post with Egypt to protest against “brutal practices” of Hamas. The PA’s civil affairs authority accused Hamas of “summoning, arresting and abusing our employees,” leading it to conclude that their presence at the border post was futile.