BICOM

For just the second time since last summer’s conflict, a rocket was fired yesterday from the Gaza Strip at the southern Israeli city of Ashdod. Israel responded by launching air strikes against four terror targets in Gaza.

Rocket warning sirens were sounded in Ashdod and the surrounding area, a rarity since Operation Protective Edge as a single rocket headed for the city. However, it was intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system and no injuries or damage was reported. Yesterday’s attack comes a little over a week after a Gaza rocket landed in Sderot and another was aimed at Ashkelon.

Periodic rocket fire from Gaza has notably increased since May. Like these previous attacks, responsibility for yesterday’s fire was claimed by the radical Salafist group the Omar Brigade, which is sympathetic towards ISIS. The group said via social media that the rocket attack was revenge for the killing of a Palestinian woman killed at a checkpoint in Hebron last week. The Omar Brigade has made clear that its attacks serve a dual purpose – targeting Israelis while challenging Hamas’s authority in Gaza. In recent weeks, Hamas has faced increased pressures in the form of Egypt’s continuing crackdown on smuggling tunnels and rare displays of public dissatisfaction with its governance.

Israel responded to yesterday’s attack by launching air strikes against four Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported as a result of the sorties. As the de facto governing power in Gaza, Israel holds Hamas responsible for rockets fired from territory it controls. IDF Spokesman, Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said that “Hamas is responsible and will be held accountable for every attack emanating from the Gaza Strip. The IDF will continue defending all Israelis who are repeatedly attacked by such blatant acts of aggression.”

However, Israeli officials will have noted with concern that the attack yesterday was the first time that the Omar Brigade has deployed more sophisticated long-range rather than short-range missiles.