Rocket fire from Gaza persists despite ‘cease-fire’
Islamic Jihad claims Egypt mediated truce • Ya’alon: If attacks continue, we’ll act against Hamas • IAF calls up air defense reserves
Terrorists in Gaza continued to target Israel with rockets on Thursday, attacking Gaza- border communities and areas north of Ashkelon despite earlier claims by Islamic Jihad of an Egyptiantruce reached with Israel. Nine rockets had been fired at Israel from Gaza by press time, with one intercepted in the vicinity of Netivot and the remainder striking open areas. More than 70 Gazan rockets – most fired by Islamic Jihad – have slammed into Israeli territory since Wednesday morning. Five rockets hit the Sha’ar Hanegev region Thursday night, hitting open regions, including some in the Sderot area. A rocket exploded in the Ashkelon Coast region. Earlier in the day, terrorists fired two medium-range rockets, targeting an area between Ashkelon and Ashdod to its north. The projectiles exploded in open areas, and triggered warning sirens across a wide area of southern Israel, sending civilians fleeing for cover. The Israel Air Force called up a number of reservists to Air Defense Command, a signal the IDF was taking precautionary steps ahead of potential developments. Earlier on Thursday, the IAF struck seven targets in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said that “quiet would be met with quiet” but
warned, “If provocations continue, we will know how to pound whoever needs to be pounded. “We do not seek an escalation, but we will not be resigned to any provocation from the organizations in Gaza,” Ya’alon said. Islamic Jihad claimed it had reached a truce with Israel, with the help of Egyptian mediators. “Following intensive Egyptian contacts and efforts, the agreement for calm has been restored in accordance with understandings reached in 2012 in Cairo,” Islamic Jihad official Khaled al-Batsh wrote on Facebook, referring to a truce that ended the eight-day Operation Pillar of Defense round of violence two years ago. Batsh said Islamic Jihad would hold its fire as long as Israel did the same. In the morning, Ya’alon held a security assessment meeting with military chiefs. At its conclusion, he said, “The IDF’s response to the rocket fire yesterday on southern Israel was the strongest since Operation Pillar of Defense, and the price paid by terror organizations in the Strip was heavy.” Ya’alon referred to the 29 targets that the IAF struck on Wednesday night, which included Islamic Jihad posts and military positions. Israel viewed both Hamas and Islamic Jihad as being responsible for rocket attacks, he added. “We have a range of options that we will not hesitate to use to continue to respond with power,” he warned. “Hamas is responsible for Gaza, and if it does not know how to prevent rocket fire from its territory at Israel, we will act against it and its wider interests. Anyone who tries to fire a rocket at Israel, or who is involved in rocket fire bears the responsibility, and we won’t hesitate to strike them at any time.” Ya’alon vowed to “continue to act responsibly, and with good judgment, to ensure the security of Israeli citizens and to allow routine life to continue.” Islamic Jihad fired dozens of rockets at Gaza-border communities on Wednesday, in the biggest attack from Gaza since 2012. A Hamas leader in Gaza City said on Thursday that the attack on Israeli communities was an act of self-defense. The leader, Sami Abu Zuhri, warned that the agreement with Israel to maintain calm did not mean to surrender. “The Israeli occupation is fully responsible for the escalation taking place. This escalation started off with the execution of three members of Islamic Jihad, and we assure you that the Palestinian resistance is defending itself when confronting these crimes,” he said. Abu Zuhri continued: “We affirm that Hamas and the resistance will never allow the occupation to create a new reality at the expense of the Palestinian resistance, or to change the agreement for calm into an agreement for surrender.” Reuters and Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report. •