Six Rockets Fired from the Gaza Strip Land in Israel; Israel Strikes Back

Israeli war planes flew sorties over the Gaza Strip late Sunday after four missiles fired from Gaza landed in the area of the southern coastal city of Ashqelon and two in the Bnei Shimon region. Two of the rockets were successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system and two fell in open areas. No one was injured and no damage was caused by the missiles. Responding to the barrage, on Monday morning the Israeli air force flew missions against what the army called four Gaza Strip terror targets: including a missile-launcher and weapons depot said to belong to the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, the group the Israelis believe fired the rockets. The belief is that a rift between Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and Islamic Jihad is growing in the aftermath of an armed clash between the two factions that left an Islamic Jihad fighter dead. Although the official Israeli policy is to hold Hamas as the ruler of Gaza responsible for all violent acts carried out from there against Israel, the Israelis appear to be allowing for the rift in its considerations. Nevertheless, because Israel’s defense minister ordered all crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip to be closed, Palestinian families are unable to visit family members being held in Israeli jails.