Israel Roundup: Bombs In Gaza, Drones Over Israel, Jets Over Lebanon

Responding to a barrage of 50 rockets and mortars Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired at southern Israel on Monday, Israel fired rockets of its own into Gaza, Haaretz reported.

An Israel Defense Force spokesperson told Haaretz that it hit “a number of terror cells and targets of the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip,” including one near a mosque, which the spokesperson said was part of a network of religious sites Hamas uses for “terror activities.”

In an unusual move, Hamas’ jihadist wing actually stepped forward and claimed responsibility for the shelling in Israel, saying that it was in response to an Israeli missile attack on Sunday in Gaza that killed one known Palestinian militant, Talat Jarbi, as well as three children, a woman and an elderly man near the southern city Khan Younis.

Another spokesman for Hamas told the New York Times the attacks on Monday were meant to be “a message” that “the Palestinian resistance will not allow unilateral aggression” from Israel.

No one was hurt in the Gaza attack on Israel, except for a goat in a petting zoo. A few sheep were also reported injured.

On the other end of Israel, the IDF is practicing mock raids over southern Lebanon a day after Israel shot a drone out of the sky on Sunday morning, suspected to have been sent by Hezbollah and supported by Iran, Artuz Sheva reported.

Haaretz said the drone was airborne for about 20 minutes before a warplane shot it down. The Israeli military said it likely took off from the southern Lebanon city of Sidon, but the Palestinian news agency Ma’an claimed the missile departed from Gaza.

A Lebanese TV channel reportedly said that Hezbollah sent the drone, YNET News said, but some mystery still remains as Hezbollah itself has not yet confirmed the drone’s ownership.