Little-known group claims Gaza rocket fire
Armed wing of Fatah splinter group says it launched two rockets at Eshkol region Thursday; they fell short of border fence
A little-known group in Gaza claimed responsibility Friday for two rockets fired from the Palestinian enclave Thursday night which fell short of the border fence, landing inside the Hamas-held territory.
On its Facebook page, the armed wing of a Fatah splinter group called Fatah al-Intifadah said it fired the rockets at the Eshkol region in southern Israel. The rockets were said to have been launched from the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza.
“The coming days will witness an escalation against the Zionist entity,” the al-Asafa Brigades said in its statement.
Fatah al-Intifadah broke off from Fatah in the early 1980s over the group’s decision to get involved in the Lebanese Civil War. Its following remains primarily in Palestinian refugee camps in Syria and Lebanon. It has had little influence over the Palestinians in the West Bank or Gaza since the Oslo Accords.
Alert sirens in Israel were not triggered in the incident as the rockets did not threaten a populated Israeli area.
The last several weeks have seen an uptick in sporadic rocket attacks, mostly attributed to Salafi groups seeking to challenge Hamas’s rule in Gaza, leading to steadily increased tensions.
On March 1, a projectile struck an open field south of the coastal city of Ashkelon, causing neither injury nor damage.
Earlier that week a rocket was launched from Gaza towards the Sha’ar Hanegev region, striking an open field.
Hours later, Israeli Air Force jets bombed multiple targets in Gaza.
On Wednesday, Israeli troops dismantled two improvised explosive devices planted along the Gaza border fence. Gazans claimed a man was injured by IDF tank fire in the incident.
Israeli officials have vowed to respond forcefully to any attacks from the Strip, usually targeting posts belonging to the Hamas terror group.
Most rocket attacks since the 2014 war have been carried out by radical Salafist groups, not by Hamas. However, Israel holds Hamas, the Sunni terror group that has ruled the coastal enclave for the past 10 years, as ultimately responsible for any rocket fire emanating from the Gaza Strip.