Israeli planes strike Gaza terrorist cell

The IAF planes struck a terrorist cell planting explosives near the border fence in the central Gaza Strip after midnight on Tuesday. No injuries were immediately reported.

The airstrike came hours after Israeli planes attacked a terrorist cell in the northern Gaza Strip as it was in the midst of trying to fire rockets at the western Negev on Monday evening.

Palestinian sources said the earlier strike was carried out in Beit Hanoun and two Palestinians were killed as well as several wounded. An earlier IDF sortie also targeted terror sites in Beit Hanoun on Monday, killing two members of Islamic Jihad.

One of the casualties in the later strike was with the Izzaldin Al-Qassam brigades, Hamas’s military wing, Ynet reported.

Approximately two hours after the attack in the Gaza Strip a rocket exploded in an open area near the city of Sderot. No injuries were reported.

The IDF Spokesperson said the strike was unrelated to an attack on the border with Egypt Monday morning that saw a civilian killed when terrorists fired on a convoy of construction workers.

The spokesperson’s office responded to the incidents saying, “The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli citizens, and IDF soldiers will continue to act against anyone who uses terrorism against Israel.”

Several rockets have been fired into Israel from Gaza since the weekend, with the IDF responding with aerial sorties.