After several weeks of relative quiet, Palestinian Islamists launched a rocket, late last-night, from the northern Gaza Strip toward Israel’s southern communities. Thankfully, the rocket landed in the Mediterranean Sea, off the shore-line of an Israeli coastal town – causing no injuries or damage. Upon the request of Israel’s military censor, TV7 will not reveal the exact location of the site of impact, which could help Islamists improve their aim in future attacks.
Meanwhile, an IDF official told TV7 that while Israel views Hamas as solely responsible for all terror-related offenses that emanate from the Gaza Strip, the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad was responsible for last night’s rocket fire.
According to the official, who asked to remain anonymous, despite close coordination between the Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the latter was kept in the dark.
The military official revealed the presiding IDF assessment, in which the Islamic Republic of Iran, by means of its Palestinian proxy ‘Islamic Jihad’, is actively seeking to undermine the Egyptian-mediated ceasefire between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
Furthermore, in an unprecedented statement on its twitter page, the IDF Spokesperson’s unit cited the Islamic Jihad commander in the northern Gaza enclave, Bahaa Abu Al A’ta, as the terrorist responsible for the rocket fire last night and efforts to bring about an escalation. While it stopped short from elaborating on a possible military response, naming Abu Al A’ta by name raises speculation of the possible future targeting of the terrorist.
Meanwhile, in response to the Palestinian attack, the IDF announced its decision to limit the fishing zone off the coast of Gaza from 8.1 to 3.2 nautical miles – until further notice.