Israeli Military Strikes Hamas Facility in Gaza Following Rocket Attack
The Israel Defense Forces attacked a Hamas weapons manufacturing facility early on Thursday morning in response to an attack from Gaza on Israeli territory. Six rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel; five of the rockets were intercepted by the missile defense system and one landed in an open area.
The IDF said that the weapons facility, which also stores Hamas naval weapons, is located adjacent to a mosque, medical clinic, hotel, police station and school. “This is further proof that the terrorist organization Hamas places its military assets in the heart of a civilian population,” the IDF said in a statement.
The rocket attack that targeted the southern Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Sderot was in response to an IDF raid in Nablus that left at least 11 Palestinians, including wanted gunmen, dead and over 100 injured. No injuries or damage were reported in the rocket attack; no Palestinian group immediately claimed responsibility. The IDF had been on alert of such a rocket attack in the wake of the raid.
