Israelis pound Gaza after Hamas rockets hit Israel

TEL AVIV (AFP) — Israeli aircraft struck dozens of targets across the Gaza Strip on Saturday following rocket barrages on southern Israel.

The flare-up in violence, which caused no serious casualties, followed another deadly confrontation on Friday in which five Palestinian protesters along the Gaza-Israel border were killed by Israeli troops.

Palestinians have gathered for protests along the border at least weekly since March 30.

The army did not comment on the deaths, but said around 16,000 “rioters and demonstrators” had gathered, with some setting tires alight and hurling rocks, firebombs and grenades towards soldiers.

The Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks, saying they were in response to the deaths. Around midday on Saturday, it said in a statement it had agreed to a cease fire.

The Israeli military said it viewed the rocket assault “severely.” Hamas did not claim responsibility for the rockets, but Israel holds it responsible for any fire from the coastal enclave.

“Overnight, dozens of rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip at communities in southern Israel,” the army said. It said the Iron Dome intercepted around 10 of them, while two rockets came down inside the Gaza Strip and the others hit “open areas.”

Israeli military spokesman Lt.-Col. Jonathan Conricus accused Syria and Iran of involvement in the rocket attack.

“Orders and incentives were given from Damascus with a clear involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards al-Quds force,” Conricus told reporters. “Our response is not limited geographically.”

Israeli doctors said seven civilians were being treated for shock.

The armed wing of Islamic Jihad, the second largest militant group in Gaza and a close Hamas ally, hailed the rocket fire in a statement on Saturday morning.