BICOM

A Qassam rocket fired from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip landed in southern Israel overnight. The incident follows a weekend during which a further rocket hit southern Israel, precipitating targeted Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

The “Colour Red” public warning siren was reportedly sounded at around 2.15am in Israeli communities close to the Gaza Strip. A Qassam rocket landed in an open area in the Eshkol region, causing no injuries or damage. However, the attack came just a day after a another rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, triggering an air raid siren which saw groups of Israelis celebrating the Lag B’Omer holiday fleeing for cover in the Sdot Negev region of southern Israel. Again, no injuries or damage was reported.

Israel’s Air Force responded to the attack with an air strike on strategic locations in the Gaza Strip.  The IDF said that Israeli jets had successfully hit “a terrorist weapon storage facility and a Hamas training installation.”

During yesterday’s cabinet meeting, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the situation saying, “I want to make clear that we will not tolerate a ‘drizzle’ policy. A ‘drizzle’ of rockets or missiles will be met by a very aggressive reaction, and we will take all necessary action to defend our citizens.”

There has been a marked increase in the number of rocket attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip over the past several weeks. These have punctuated the relative calm in the area after a ceasefire brought an end to Operation Pillar of Defence in November, during which Israel sought to stop an increased rate of rocket fire from Gaza on Israeli population centres. Earlier this month, a Salafi Islamist group fired rockets from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula at Eilat, Israel’s southernmost city.