BICOM

Israeli aircrafts this morning carried out air strikes against two training facilities and smuggling tunnels maintained by the Hamas regime in Gaza. The training camps were facilities run by the al-Qassam brigade, the armed wing of Hamas. According to a statement issued by the IDF Spokesmans’ Office following the raid, it was carried out in response to the firing of a number of rockets at the Lachish and Ashkelon areas. The first rocket hit at about 10.30 pm last night, landing in open ground between Sderot and Kiryat Gat. The second landed about two hours later, at the southern entrance to the city of Ashkelon. According to a report in Ynetnews, both rockets were of the Grad type, a copy of the Katyusha rocket system. Both of the areas hit are currently unprotected by the Iron Dome rocket interception system.

The nature of the IAF action and the subsequent statement made clear that Israel considers Hamas, the de-facto rulers of the Gaza Strip, responsible for the launching of the rockets. The Hamas authorities recently reached an agreement with a number of smaller organizations who pledged to cease rocket fire from Gaza. However, smaller Islamist groups claiming links to the ‘global jihad’ and al-Qaida do not regard themselves as bound by this agreement. It is these groups who are carrying out the attacks. The latest rocket attacks are notable also in that they reflect the continued flow of smuggled weaponry into Gaza, and the fragility of the relative calm that has prevailed in recent months.