ISRAELI JETS IN REVENGE BOMBING ON GAZA AFTER ROCKET ATTACKS
One man was killed in air strikes on Hamas and allies in the territory
One Palestinian man was killed as Israeli jets bombarded the Gaza Strip yesterday in response to rockets fired towards Israel on Friday night.
The Israeli military said it struck targets linked to the Palestinian territory’s ruling Hamas group, including weapon-manufacturing and storage sites, naval force and training compounds and “underground infrastructure”.
A security source in Gaza told Agence France-Presse that bases of groups allied to Hamas were also targeted in dozens of strikes in the early hours of yesterday.
The health ministry in Gaza identified the person killed as Ahmed Al Shehri, 27.
Health officials said two other men were wounded in the same strike on a military training camp but it was not immediately clear whether they were militants or civilians. A Hamas source said the group fired at Israeli aircraft carrying out the raids and the Israeli army confirmed fresh “incoming fire” from Gaza.
The Israeli strikes were a response to at least 10 rockets fired at southern Israel from Gaza late on Friday.
The Israeli army said the Iron Dome anti-missile defence system intercepted eight of the rockets, which were fired in two salvos.
Police said one rocket hit a house in the town of Sderot near the border, causing damage but no casualties. It was the second consecutive evening in which the army reported rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.
Before Thursday, there had been no such reported rocket fire from Gaza since September 12. The rocket launches on Friday came after scores of Palestinians were wounded by fire during protests along Gaza-Israel border fence earlier in the day.
The demonstrations have been held weekly to demand an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza imposed in 2007 and the right of return for Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes during the creation of Israel in 1948. More than 180 Palestinians have been killed since the protests began in March last year.
International mediators, including Egypt and the UN, oversee a ceasefire deal under which Hamas agreed to prevent rocket attacks and lower the intensity of the border protests in exchange for humanitarian projects in the enclave. Hamas accuses Israel of not honouring the agreement by slowing the implementation of the deal.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said its F-35 stealth fighters will take part in multinational manoeuvres being held in the south of the country from today. The US, Germany, Italy and Greece will also participate in the “Blue Flag” excercise, which will run until November 14, the military said.
It will be the first international ‘Fifth Generation’ exercise held in Israel involving the F-35, it said, referring to the most advanced fighter planes, typically employing stealth technology, advanced avionics and highly integrated computer systems.
“This deployment will provide an opportunity for joint flights over a wide range of threat scenarios combined with advanced technology,” it said.
The exercise would include more than 1,000 personnel from different air forces. The manoeuvres are being held at a time of high tensions between Israel and arch-foe Iran, with Israel regularly striking what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah military targets in Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in July that Israel’s fighters “can reach anywhere in the Middle East, including Iran”.
He spoke on a visit to an air force base where he inspected F-35s.
Israel took delivery of its first two F-35s, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, in December 2016 and has since received several more. It has agreed to buy a total of 50.
The Israeli strikes were carried out in response to at least 10 rockets fired at southern Israel from Gaza late on Friday