Israel strikes Hamas in Gaza after rocket fire resumes
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military struck Hamas militant sites in Gaza on Sunday in response to the resumption of rocket fire toward Israel, which threatened to unravel an informal cease-fire that had held since a flare-up of violence last week.
The military said it hit 15 Hamas targets, including military compounds, munition factories and naval forces. The strikes come after militants broke days of calm along the volatile frontier by firing projectiles toward Israeli communities.
Israel’s Iron Done defence system intercepted some and others landed in Gaza. Sirens wailed in southern Israel overnight warning of incoming rockets. No one was hurt on either side.
Last week, Gaza militants fired dozens of mortar shells and Israel struck back, in the most violent exchange between the two sides since the 2014 war.
Neither side appears inter- ested in a full-blown conflict, and both exercised restraint. Militants in Gaza did not fire longrange rockets at Israel’s major cities, as they did in 2014, and Israeli airstrikes were focused on unmanned military targets.
Hamas said it reached a ceasefire, while Israel said it would halt its strikes as long as there was no rocket fire.
Hamas has also been orchestrating weekly violent protests along the Israel-gaza frontier. More than 115 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire since they began in late March. On Friday, a 21-year-old volunteer paramedic was shot as she tried to help evacuate wounded protesters near Israel’s perimeter fence with Gaza.