Israel Strikes Back

We knew it would just be a matter of time, following the mortar attacks from Gaza:

IDF Retaliates with Air Raids in Central, Northern Gaza

Israel Air Force craft attacked three sites in Hamas-run Gazaover the night, following Hamas rocket attacks on the Negev.

Two terrorist activity headquarters were targeted in northern Gaza, as was a lab for manufacturing and storing rocket materials in central Gaza. The IDF, which was aided by Israel Security Agency intelligence, reported precise hits, and the planes returned safely.

Approximately 200 Hamas-fired projectiles have landed in Israel since the beginning of 2010.

The targeting of the terror-linked sites was a response to several Hamas rocket attacks against southern Israel towns over the past 24 hours. Five rockets and mortar shells were launched and landed in Israel during this period, wounding one man, who was treated in Be’er Sheva’s Soroka MedicalCenter, and damaging a house.

Also see:

IAF hits 3 Gaza Strip targets in response to mortars

This article contains one interesting tidbit:

Earlier on Wednesday, Southern regional councils situated near the border with the Gaza Strip released a joint statement following yet more mortar and rocket attacks on the area from Gaza.

"Escalation is only a matter of time. The threat in the area is constant and growing," the statement said. "We hope that the government will know how to relate to this reality, before formulating policy for the southern line of conflict for 2011. The government must realize that this will be an active line of conflict for the foreseeable future

"This is only the latest in a series of security incidents," the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council said. "In recent weeks these incidents have risen greatly, and we are now being shelled on a near-daily basis."

Also on Wednesday, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi warned that the security situation at the Gaza Strip border is very fragile and may deteriorate rapidly, Army Radio reported.

We'll be watching this situation closely, as one never knows when the entire powder-keg will be ignited.