BICOM

Two missiles were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel early this morning.

Sirens sounded in the border communities of Sdot Negev and Sha’ar HaNegev at 05:30 this morning. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed shortly afterwards that both missiles landed in open areas and caused no damage or injuries. The missile attacks had been preceded by IDF military action against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. The IDF said that a “Fighter jet and an IDF aircraft struck a number of terror targets in a Hamas military compound in the northern Gaza Strip.” This was in response to explosive and incendiary balloons launched from Gaza into Israel, which had required the fire and rescue services to put out two fires near Israeli border communities.

According to Palestinian media, the IDF targeted a Hamas training facility in Gaza. The facility was heavily damaged, but no casualties were reported.

The IDF said that it held Hamas “responsible for all events transpiring in the Gaza Strip and emanating it”, and said it views “any attempt to harm Israeli civilians with great severity and will continue operating against these attacks.”

On Monday, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a group based in Gaza, fired a missile at Israel in what has been interpreted as a signal of their objection to the recent understandings reached between Israel and Hamas through Egyptian mediation. After mounting tensions earlier in the year, there has in recent weeks been a period of comparative calm along the Israel-Gaza border.

In a rare move, Israel named Islamic Jihad officials directly, publishing their photos, and said they were responsible for the attack on the organisation, rather than laying sole responsibility on Hamas. The IDF named Islamic Jihad’s northern district commander, Baha Abu al-Ata, as the person responsible for the missile launch, adding that the missile was fired on orders from Ziyad al-Nakhalah, Islamic Jihad’s deputy Secretary General. Israeli media has speculated that this may have been an implicit threat that if the missile fire continues, the IDF could decide to target senior Islamic Jihad officials.

The IDF announced yesterday that it is deploying a number of Iron Dome batteries throughout Israel due to fears that Islamic Jihad will attempt to threaten Independence Day celebrations or the Eurovision song competition on 18 May.