Palestinian fighters in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip fired rockets at Israel on Tuesday night. At least once rocket fell on the Gaza side of the Israeli-Gaza border, while another struck Israel. The Times of Israel notes that Israel’s November Operation Pillar of Defense against Hamas’s military infrastructure – which Jerusalem had launched after months in which Hamas escalated the amount and sophistication of its barrages against Israel – had made such attacks relatively rare:

One rocket, reportedly fired at the town of Sderot, fell inside the Gaza Strip. A second rocket was fired at the Sha’ar Hanegev region, and was thought to have landed in an open area. Residents in the area told Maariv they heard a loud explosion, but the missile had yet to be located as of 10:30 p.m… Rocket fire at Israel, once a daily occurrence, has mostly tailed off since Israel’s mini-war with Hamas in November.

Israel responded to the overnight rocket fire with pin-point attacks against hidden rocket-launching assets in the northern Gaza Strip. The IDF reported direct hits, and added that it would not allow rocket fire to return to pre-Pillar of Defense levels:

The Israeli defense establishment has said in the past that it won’t accept periodical rocket attacks becoming routine. “The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli citizens and security forces and will continue to act against anyone initiating terror against the state of Israel,” the army said in a statement. The statement added that Israel holds Hamas, the ruler of Gaza, responsible for any act of aggression from the enclave.

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