Islamic Jihad claims Gaza rocket fire; IDF says Iran, Syria responsible
Israeli aircraft carry out fresh strikes in Strip as Iron Dome intercepts additional rockets launched from Palestinian enclave
Islamic Jihad on Saturday took responsibility for the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip overnight and threatened further launches, as the Israeli military accused the Palestinian terror group of carrying out the attacks on behalf of Iran and Syria.
Though the Israel Defense Forces did not accuse Hamas of taking part in the rocket fire, it reiterated that it considers the terror group responsible as Gaza’s rulers.
“We also view the regime in Syria and the Iranian Quds Force as the address for the incidents,” IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis said, referring to the overseas branch of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“We sent clear messages in this spirit to those who need it and no one is immune, neither in the Strip or outside it,” he added.
Minutes after the IDF statement, a series of warning sirens were heard throughout communities in southern Israel. The army said five rockets were fired from Gaza in salvos, four of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system.
In response, the military said Israeli fighter jets carried out airstrikes on eight Islamic Jihad targets in three separate military facilities, including weapons production sites and a factory that makes parts for subterranean tunnels.
The rocket launches and retaliatory airstrikes came over an hour after Iron Dome interceptors destroyed another rocket launched from Gaza.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman was set to meet with IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and other top security officials at military headquarters in Tel Aviv for a situational assessment, his office said.
Due to the flareup, Ben Gurion Airport changed the runways for incoming flights, according to Hebrew media reports, though flight times were not expected to be affected.
The latest exchange of fire came after Islamic Jihad’s military wing threatened further rocket launches.
“The Palestinian resistance is considering expanding the response in number and type, if the enemy continues its ruthless action and aggression against our people,” the Al-Quds Brigades said in a statement.
The army said some 30 rockets were launched at Israel overnight, around 10 of which were intercepted by Iron Dome. Two of the rockets fell in Gaza and the rest landed in open areas.
The Defense Ministry’s liaison to the Palestinians, known by its acronym COGAT, said a mortar launched by terrorists struck the ambulance terminal at the Erez border crossing, the only pedestrian passage between Gaza and Israel.
“To what low have the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip reached when they strike the ambulance crossing at the Erez Crossing? A crossing through which children in need of life-saving treatment, terminally ill patients for whom this is their last hope to extend their lives, and those in need of the progress of world medicine to provide a response to their diseases, enter Israel on a daily basis on their way to hospitals in Israel or in Judea and Samaria,” Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rokon wrote on COGAT’s Arabic-language Facebook page, using the biblical name for the West Bank.
Damage at the Erez border crossing caused by a mortar launched by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip is seen on October 27, 2018. (Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories)
In response to the attacks, the IDF said fighter jets and attack helicopters struck 87 targets in the Strip, including two weapons-production facilities, five military sites, a training facility, a tunnel shaft and an observation post.
The Israel Defense Forces later said aircraft also struck a four-story building in Gaza City’s Daraj neighborhood used as the headquarters of Hamas’ General Security Services.
It said the building’s tenants received several warnings ahead of the strike to clear the premises.
“The strike was carried out following the extensive attacks by the IDF in response to the [rocket] fire at communities in the Gaza area tonight. This strike was an expression of the intelligence and operational capabilities of the IDF, that will deepen and intensify as needed,” the army said.
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