As Gaza Attacks Persist, Netanyahu Says Israel Preparing For Wider Fight

After rocket fire, Israeli airstrikes target Hamas special forces base in Gaza

TOI STAFF

Israeli war planes carried out series of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip late Tuesday night, after Palestinians fired a rocket and sent several arson balloons into Israel, sparking a series a fires, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The overnight raids targeted Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip including a military compound belonging to an elite unite of the terror group, the army said, adding that it holds Hamas responsible for all violence emanating from the Strip.

Video footage published by the Hamas-linked Gaza news site Shebab appeared to show Israeli jets firing on targets in the Strip.

The renewed airstrikes came hours after terrorists in Gaza fired a rocket toward Israeli communities north of the enclave on Tuesday night, the IDF said.

There were no immediate reports of impact in populated areas, indicating the projectile struck an open field.

The rocket triggered sirens in the city of Ashkelon, north of Gaza, and in the nearby community of Kibbutz Zikim, sending tens of thousands of people to bomb shelters.

Rocket fired from Gaza at southern Israel, amid high tensions

JUDAH ARI GROSS

Terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket toward Israeli communities north of the enclave on Tuesday night, the IDF said.

There were no immediate reports of impact in populated areas, indicating the projectile struck an open field.

The rocket triggered sirens in the city of Ashkelon, north of Gaza, and in the nearby community of Kibbutz Zikim on Tuesday night, sending tens of thousands of people to bomb shelters.

As Gaza attacks persist, Netanyahu says Israel preparing for wider fight

TOI STAFF and AARON BOXERMAN

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel is treating airborne incendiary attacks from the Gaza Strip like rocket attacks and reluctantly preparing for the possibility of a wider bout of fighting, while warning the enclave’s rulers Hamas would be making a “very big mistake” if it keeps up the violence.

“We have adopted a policy under which a fire is treated as a rocket,” he told southern mayors in a phone call, as dozens of fires burned farmland in southern Israel on Tuesday as a result of cross-border airborne arson attacks.

Hours after his phone call, a rocket was fired at Israel, setting off sirens in Ashkelon. The projectile apparently fell in an open field, causing no injuries.

“We have, for 10 days consecutively, been striking Hamas and [other] terror groups’ infrastructure. We are also applying various sanctions in areas that are important to Hamas. Unfortunately, we are also preparing, as needed, for the possibility of a round, or [multiple] rounds, [of fighting]. I hope we won’t get to this,” said Netanyahu, according to a readout from his office.

Increasing restrictions on Gaza, Egyptian mediation, and nightly Israeli Air Force strikes on Hamas observation posts have so far failed to prevent Gaza-based terror groups from launching balloon-borne arson devices and explosives into Israel. Several rockets have also been fired at southern Israel this week, and were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

“Hamas will be making a very big mistake if it continues with this. It is already getting an indication of where this will lead, and it certainly remembers where it has led in the past; and I hope Islamic Jihad also remembers where it led,” added Netanyahu.

Israeli firefighters have been battling fires in southern Israel for days, with 39 sparked on Tuesday alone, as tensions rise. Thousands of dunams have been set alight so far; 850 dunams (210 acres) burned in the first half of last week alone, according to Israeli authorities. Rockets attacks have also been increasing, including two on Sunday that were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.

Israel has responded to the attacks with near-nightly air raids, as well as punitive measures such as closing the Kerem Shalom crossing and shrinking Gaza’s permitted fishing zone.

Gaza’s only power plant ceased functioning on Tuesday morning, drastically reducing the amount of electricity Gaza residents will receive, the Gaza Energy Authority announced. Israel banned diesel fuel from entering the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing on Thursday after dozens of balloons and several rockets were launched from Gaza into Israeli territory.