Conflicts & War

Israel bombs Gaza in retaliation after rocket fire

Jerusalem, Jan 28 (EFE).- Israeli forces launched multiple airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Friday after several rockets were fired from the coastal enclave in a new escalation of tension a day after 10 Palestinians lost their lives in a clash in the Jenin refugee camp.

An army spokesperson said that in response to rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli jets bombed a military base used by the Hamas militant group.

The spokesperson said the target was an underground training and rocket manufacturing center in Maghazi in the center of Gaza.

The army said the aerial raid would significantly hamper the efforts to intensify and arm Hamas, the de facto Islamist movement that controls the coastal strip since 2007.

The Israeli armed alleged that at least five rockets were fired from Gaza that set off anti-missile alarms in the areas bordering the coastal enclave.

Three rockets were intercepted by Israel’s air defense system, another landed in an unpopulated area, and the fifth one exploded inside the Gaza Strip.

No damage or casualties were reported from the rocket attacks.

Israel blames Hamas “for all terrorist activities from the Gaza Strip” and warned that it “will face the consequences.

Gaza residents told Efe that they heard the roar of drones and Israeli military jets and several explosions in the center of the strip.

They said more than 14 shells were fired.

Palestinian medical sources said no injuries were reported during the attacks.

In the past year, Palestinian militias in Gaza have fired rockets at Israel in response to the deaths or detention of their members in the West Bank.

So far no militia has claimed responsibility for the early Friday morning attack.

The occupied West Bank witnessed one of its deadliest days in years on Thursday after 10 Palestinians were killed during violent clashes with Israeli forces, Palestinian officials said.

The clashes took place after an Israeli army raid in Jenin.

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which partially governs the occupied West Bank through the Fatah party of President Mahmud Abbas, described it as a “massacre” by Israel.

The PNA terminated security coordination with Israel and called on all Palestinian factions to act together.

Some 20 people were injured in Jenin on Thursday, four of whom were in serious condition, the Palestinian health ministry said, adding the situation on the ground remained critical.

The Israeli military confirmed that there was an operation in the northern Palestinian city, saying that its forces had come under fire while trying to arrest wanted members from the Islamic Jihad movement.

Six suspects were “neutralized” in an exchange of gunfire and another turned himself in, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on Twitter.

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