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Israel responds to missile attacks from Gaza
The Israeli Air Force bombed Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip early this morning in retaliation for three missiles fired at Israel on Wednesday.
The missiles were fired toward Israeli communities near the border just hours apart, landing in open areas and causing no injuries or damage. In all three cases, the Code Red siren was not sounded.
The Israel Defence Force (IDF) said that it “targeted significant terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. The IDF will continue to use all means at its disposal above and below ground to thwart attempts to attack the citizens of Israel. The IDF will not allow any breach of Israeli sovereignty or any hostile attempts by terror organisations such as Hamas and remains prepared for a wide variety of scenarios”.
The IDF confirmed that Gaza-based Islamic Jihad organisation, which receives Iranian support, was responsible for the barrage of mortar shells fired from Gaza during a memorial event in Kibbutz Kfar Azza last Friday to mark the 24th birthday of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, whose body is being held by Hamas.
According to Israeli security officials, quoted in Maariv, there are “now mounting chances of an escalation in the south. As opposed to the past several years, Islamic Jihad is now taking part in the [missile] fire at Israel, and it is liable to drag Gaza into a conflagration”.
Israeli security officials believe that Hamas does not want to see an escalation in violence but note that Hamas is currently not able to stop the missile fire at Israel
On Tuesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot criticised politicians accusing the IDF’s response to Gaza missile fire of being too soft. He said: “These statements to respond with maximal force to rocket fire are irresponsible. It is not the right thing to do. We can’t accept the launch of a single rocket. We’re using force in varying degrees (to retaliate). I can’t name a single instance where the IDF attacked a non-terror target. The army possesses the best tools.”
IDF authorities have opened an investigation into the circumstances of the death of Ibrahim Abu Thuraya on 15th December. Abu Thuraya died during a violent riot along the Gaza border. Although the IDF’s operational review concluded that no live fire was aimed at Abu Thuraya, it has been claimed that he died as a result of IDF action.