BICOM

Several rockets were fired yesterday evening from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, prompting the Israeli Air Force (IAF) to respond with an air strike on several military targets.

Four rockets landed in the Shar Hanegev region at around 9.30pm yesterday. No injuries or damage was reported, although the Code Red warning siren was sounded in Sderot and surrounding communities, sending local residents to find cover. Israeli forces are reportedly combing the area for rocket debris.

Several hours later, the IAF responded by hitting five specific targets in the northern Gaza Strip, which Palestinian reports said included two Hamas military outposts. Palestinian reports also said a 30-year-old man and a 1-year-old child were injured in the air strikes. A statement from the IDF confirmed the air operation and placed responsibility for the rocket attacks firmly on Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since violently overthrowing the Fatah faction in 2007. The IDF statement pledged that Israeli forces “will continue to act forcefully and decisively against any who utilize terror against the State of Israel.”

Also yesterday, Palestinian snipers in the Gaza Strip opened fire on Israeli security personnel patrolling the border. No injuries were reported, but Israeli army vehicles were lightly damaged.

Yesterday’s incidents follow a period of heightened tension in the Gaza region during the past month. Last week, the Israeli Navy opened fire on two vessels which it suspected of attempting to smuggle arms into the Gaza Strip. The incident came just days after Israeli forces uncovered a tunnel which traversed under the Israeli border, which Hamas said it constructed. Meanwhile, in early March, Islamic Jihad launched a barrage of around 70 rockets on southern Israel. It was was the largest rocket bombardment to hit southern Israel since Operation Pillar of Defence in 2012, during which Israel sought to stop an increased rate of rocket fire from Gaza on Israeli population centres.