Israeli Airstrikes In Gaza Follow Rocket Fired Into Southern Israel

Israel bombed a target in the Gaza Strip Monday morning after two rockets were fired into southern Israel Sunday night, the Jerusalem Post reported. The Israeli Defense Force said it bombed a site that belonged to the Hamas terror organization, which has claimed responsibility for the rockets fired at Israel Sunday evening.

"The IDF will not tolerate such attacks from terror organizations on Israeli territory, and it will continue to act firmly against any attempt to breach the quiet in the communities in the South," an IDF statement said.

For its part, Israeli airstrikes targeted Qassam Brigades sites across the Palestinian enclave, the Hamas-run Al Aqsa news outlet reported. The Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade, a Salafist organization affiliated with the Islamic State group, claimed responsibility for the rocket attack on Israel, according to the Post.

The Israeli airstrikes were reported by Palestinian media shortly after 2:30 a.m., according to the Times of Israel. They came not long after the rocket from the Gaza Strip, which landed in the Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel without hurting anyone or causing damage. While a second rocket did launch, it failed to enter Israel, instead triggering alarms in the Sha’ar Hanegev region and scaring residents there.

The Times of Israel also reported that air raid sirens could be heard in Nahal Oz and Alumim before the Israeli strikes.

This trading of fire comes amid particularly high tensions in the region due to a group of fatal attacks in recent weeks. In one such attack over the weekend, a Palestinian man killed two Israeli men and injured the wife of one victim in a stabbing. Sunday also saw a Palestinian teenager killed by Israeli forces and many others injured in clashes at the Tulkarm checkpoint in the northern West Bank.

Rocket fire is nothing new to the country, as it has faced sporadic strikes from the Gaza Strip since 2014, when Israel reached a ceasefire agreement with Hamas-controlled fighters from the Palestinian region.