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After Hamas Fires 300 Rockets into Israel, IDF Says Terror Group Crossed Red Line

by TheTower.org Staff |

After Hamas, the terrorist group that exercises military and political control over the Gaza Strip, fired 300 rockets and mortars into Israel, the IDF said that the terrorist group had crossed a red line, The Jerusalem Post reported Monday.

In response to the barrage, the heaviest since Operation Protective Edge, Israel struck more than 70 sites belonging to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the two largest terrorist groups based in Gaza.

According to the IDF, Iron Dome intercepted 60 of the rockets, though most fell in open areas. However, in one case, a rocket destroyed a bakery’s warehouse in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, and at least 14 Israelis were reported injured. One, a nineteen-year-old, was reported in critical condition after a rocket hit a bus in Kfar Aza.

The Wall Street Journal reported that at least three Palestinians have been killed and nine more injured. The dead were claimed as members by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Houses were reported hit in the Israeli cities of Netivot and Ashkelon.

Among the sites targeted by the IDF was a building, which housed the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television station. According to the IDF, Hamas uses the station not just to transmit instructions to operatives in the West Bank, but also for incitement and terror training.

In an Arabic Facebook post, the head of Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Major General Kamil Abu Rokon said that “the terrorist organization Hamas crossed a red line; Israel is intensifying its response against it.”

Abu Rokon warned, “The State of Israel will continue to respond harshly against any terrorist activity or rocket fire by the terrorist organization Hamas.”

Hamas escalated its attacks on Israel following an Israeli incursion into Gaza on Sunday. Seven members of Hamas, including a commander, were killed in an ensuing firefight. In addition, a high-ranking Israeli officer was killed, and a second officer was injured.

[Photo: Israel Defense Forces / Twitter]

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