A rocket fired by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip landed between two houses in the southern Israeli city of Sderot on Sunday, prompting the IDF to carry out airstrikes against Hamas targets in Gaza.
The rocket, which was claimed by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, fell in a residential area beside a college and Sderot’s railway station, The Times of Israel reported. Residents said it was a “miracle” that there were no injuries.
Israel responded to the attack by striking two sites in northern Gaza that it said were a part of Hamas’ “terror infrastructure.” Israel holds Hamas, which rules Gaza, responsible for any rocket fire against its citizens.
Hamas routinely attempts to smuggle materials into Gaza that can be used by terrorists to manufacture rockets and other weapons. In late May, Israel intercepted a shipment of material that could be used in the construction of rockets and terror tunnels. Earlier in the month, Israeli authorities uncovered a shipment of four tons of ammonium chloride that was concealed in over 30 tons of salt. The compound can be employed both as a fertilizer and in the production of rockets. The Israel Tax Authority stated that those four tons could have resulted in the production of hundreds of long-range rockets. “This case underscores the activity of Gaza-based terrorist organizations in smuggling dual-use materials disguised as goods destined for the civilian population and reconstruction projects,” the authority concluded.
Dore Gold, director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, announced in May that Hamas is confiscating 95% of cement that enters Gaza. “From our own investigations we found that out of every 100 sacks of cement that come into the Gaza Strip [from Israel], only five or six are transferred to civilians,” he stated. Hamas uses the cement to build and expand its network of tunnels.
In April and May, the IDF uncovered two Hamas tunnels that breached Israeli territory. Hamas used its network of tunnels during the summer 2014 war to infiltrate into Israel and has continued its efforts to rebuild and expand its infrastructure. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, formerly the head of the research division of Israeli military intelligence and later the director general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, told reporters in May that the discovery of the tunnels was a sign that Hamas was preparing for another war against Israel. He added that the tunnel digging means that “they definitely invest a lot in making the necessary preparations so that in the next round, when they decide to start it, they will be able to inflict the heaviest damage on Israel, including through those tunnels.”
[Photo: Wochit news / YouTube ]