Israeli air force strikes Hamas targets in Gaza following rocket attack against Israel

The Israel Air Force struck Hamas-affiliated terror targets in Gaza on Wednesday after terrorists launched a barrage of rockets against Israeli border communities.

The majority of the 18 incoming rockets from Gaza were either struck down by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system or landed in open fields. However, a factory was reportedly damaged in the Israeli border town Sderot.

The Israeli air force reportedly targeted a weapons factory and weapons storage facility belonging to Gaza’s Hamas-led regime.

The latest hostilities at the Israel-Gaza border erupted following violent clashes between rioters and Israeli police forces at the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged the government to convene the security Cabinet in Jerusalem.

“The government of which I am a member should respond strongly to the rocket fire from Gaza. Hamas rockets necessitate a response beyond the bombing of dunes and uninhabited sites,” said Ben Gvir, who has vowed a tough response to terrorism and violence against Israel.

Some observers fear that the current Gaza violence could lead to another round of fighting between Hamas and Israel. In May 2021, Hamas and Israel fought an 11-day long war that was also triggered by Ramadan tensions in the Israeli capital Jerusalem.

Following an internationally mediated ceasefire in May 2021, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the military operation in Gaza had changed the status quo equation.

“We changed the equation not only as regards to the operation but also as regards the future. If Hamas thinks we will tolerate a ‘drizzle’ of rockets, it is mistaken,” warned Netanyahu. “What has been, we will not tolerate in the future,” the prime minister added.