Israeli jets strike Hamas targets in Gaza after rocket launch

Following airstrikes, army says it holds the terror group ‘solely responsible’ for any attacks from the coastal enclave

An Israeli Air Force F-15 takes off during the Blue Flag air exercise at the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on November 8, 2017. (Jack Guez/AFP)
An Israeli Air Force F-15 takes off during the Blue Flag air exercise at the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on November 8, 2017. (Jack Guez/AFP)

Israeli fighter jets struck Hamas targets in the southern Gaza Strip early Saturday in response to a rocket fired toward Israel from the coastal enclave, the army said.

The IDF said the compound targeted in the airstrike contained two military structures belonging to Hamas, the terror group that rules Gaza.

While no group immediately took responsibility for the launch, the army reiterated it “views the Hamas terror organization as solely responsible for what is happening in Gaza.”

The airstrikes came hours after a rocket was fired from the Strip, setting off warning sirens in the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council.

Residents in the Sderot area reported hearing an explosion. Officials said the projectile hit in an open area and did not cause casualties or damage.

Shortly after midnight Saturday, sirens again blared in the Gaza area, although it was later reported to be a false alarm.

Early Friday Israeli Air Force planes attacked a Hamas position in the northern Strip in response to a rocket attack several hours earlier. It wasn’t clear whether the rocket fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel Thursday night had landed in Israeli territory, the army said.

On Monday, sirens sounded near the Gaza border, but no rocket impact site was found, and the IDF said it was possible the sirens had been a false alarm.

The last several weeks had been relatively calm along the Gaza border, with no rockets fired out of the Palestinian enclave.

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