Islamist Palestinians launched a rocket last night from the Gaza Strip toward Israel’s southern communities. The rocket reportedly exploded in an uninhabited area within the Sdot Negev Regional Council. No injuries were reported. In response to the Palestinian rocket-fire, the Israeli Air Force targeted two underground bases in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, which according to the IDF ‘belong to the Islamist Hamas organization.’ In a statement released by the IDF spokesperson’s unit, the Israeli military stressed that it views Hamas as “responsible for all events that transpire in the Gaza Strip and emanate from it,” and vowed to “continue operating to defend Israeli civilians and to prevent terror originating in the Gaza Strip.” In response to the Israeli airstrike, Hamas issued a statement this morning in which it accused Jerusalem of playing with fire by continuing to kill demonstrators in cold blood and to bomb posts belonging to the resistance organizations.
The Hamas statement referred to an incident on Friday, in which a 44-year-old woman that participated in violent clashes along the Gazan border with Israel was allegedly shot dead by Israeli troops confronting the protesters. A Spokesman for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, Ashraf Al-Qidra, said that 25 other Palestinians were wounded by Israeli gunfire during the mass demonstration along the border’s security-fence. In response to the Palestinian statement, an Israeli military spokesperson told TV7 that the Israeli forces along the border had to face some 13,000 Palestinians. According to the spokesperson, “On three occasions, Palestinians violently crossed into Israel before doubling back.” He further noted that the protesters hurled rocks and grenades toward the troops, forcing the Israeli forces to respond in accordance with the rules of engagement” that were dictated by the leadership in Jerusalem.