TRUMP DECISION’
and our homes are a sacrifice for Jerusalem,” Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told the rally in Gaza City.
With members from other Palestinian groups showing support for Hamas, Haniyeh added, “We are marching towards Jerusalem, sacrificing millions of martyrs along the way,” and the crowd repeated his chants.
Israeli aircraft struck three Hamas facilities before dawn after the latest rocket salvo, Israel’s military said. It said it targeted training camps and weapons storage compounds. Hamas usually evacuates such facilities when border tensions rise.
Two of the rockets fired by militants were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system and a third exploded in an open area of southern Israel. There were no reports of casualties on either side of the frontier.
The military said in a statement that “due to the security events and in accordance with security assessments”, Kerem Shalom crossing — the main passage point for goods entering Gaza — and the Erez pedestrian crossing would be shut as of Thursday. It did not say how long the closure would last.
Around 15 rockets have been fired into southern Israel since Trump’s announcement. None of the projectiles has caused serious injury or damage.
The attacks have drawn Israeli airstrikes that have killed two Hamas gunmen. Two other Palestinians have been killed in confrontations with Israeli troops during stone-throwing protests along the border.
Israeli cabinet minister Tzachi Hanegbi said on Israel Radio that while Hamas, which last fought a war with Israel in 2014, was not responsible for the rocket fire, it needed to rein in militants from “breakaway groups” or it would “find itself in a situation where it has to contend” with the Israeli military. Reuters