Israeli warplanes carried out retaliatory strikes against Hamas early Sunday, and rocket alerts sounded near communities inside Israel as the terror group said it had fired rockets at Israeli planes in the latest fight against the act that threatened to engulf the region in a to drive another round of conflict.
The Israel Defense Forces, in a brief statement just after 1am Sunday, said they would attack Gaza in retaliation for a rocket attack on Saturday night that broke a month of relative calm. A central missile factory used by Hamas was said to be among the facilities attacked.
The armed wing of Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades later said it had attacked the Israeli planes with anti-aircraft fire and surface-to-air missiles.
A missile alert was issued for open areas near the small farming communities of Shlomit and Bnei Betzarim, which are close to the Egyptian border and across from Rafah in Gaza, the IDF said.
There was no confirmation of a rocket attack inside Israel.
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The Israeli strikes came hours after a projectile fired from Gaza landed in an open field near the communities of Nahal Oz and Kfar Aza on Saturday night. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
???????????????????#غزة_تحت_القصف #غزة #فلسطين #القدس #نابلس pic.twitter.com/8nti9uqrq2
— Karim Kassem (@quranka62959257) December 3, 2022
The military said fighter jets attacked a weapons workshop and tunnel used by Hamas, which effectively rules the Gaza Strip.
“The workshop will be used as the main site for manufacturing most of the group’s missiles in the strip,” the IDF said in a statement.
“The overnight strike continues progress to prevent Hamas’ force build-up,” she added.
The IDF later said it had attacked a Hamas military post in retaliation for the anti-aircraft fire. She tweeted a video showing the strikes.
בתגובה לירי לעבר מטוסי הקרב, צה”ל תקף עמדה צבאית של ארגון הטרור חמאס.
בנוסף, הלילה נתקף לי לי צות yst צות ארגון הטרור חמאס רצועת עזה וכן מנהרת מנהרת הרצועה טרור pic.twitter.com/zcrUJoLzgA
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 4, 2022
According to Palestinian medical sources, there have been no reports of injuries inside the Gaza Strip.
On social media, Gaza residents reported hearing multiple rounds of airstrikes near Khan Younis and Rafah in the south of the Strip.
Unconfirmed video footage appeared to show several large explosions.
غارات اسرائيلية على موقع للمقاومة غرب خانيونس pic.twitter.com/7zWeVRQcp1
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) December 3, 2022
Hamas’ decision to confront Israel could serve to escalate tensions. The terrorist group remained demonstratively on the fringes during the last major flare-up in August, in which Israel mainly fought the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group.
Israel says it blames Hamas for any violence emanating from Gaza and generally responds to rocket fire with airstrikes against the group, regardless of who launched the attack.
There was no claim of responsibility for Saturday night’s rocket launch, which came after Israeli officials reportedly raised concerns over the weekend about possible retaliation, including in the form of rocket fire from Gaza, over the deaths of two Palestinian Islamic Jihad members.
Both the PIJ and Hamas threatened to hit back at the deaths of the couple, who were killed in a military attack in the West Bank on Thursday.
For the past year, the PIJ has fired rockets into Israel in response to members killed or arrested in the West Bank.
The last time rockets were fired at Israel from the coastal enclave was on November 3, apparently in response to the death of a PIJ member during a West Bank raid.
Agencies contributed to this report.
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