IDF: Over 2 dozen Hamas positions bombed in second wave of reprisals

Israeli aircraft strike approximately 25 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, in a second bombardment following one on Tuesday afternoon, the army says.

The military says fighter jets, helicopters and other aircraft bombed a Hamas drone facility, advanced naval weaponry, rocket manufacturing plant, military compounds, training camps and weapons factories.

This is the second round of strikes carried out by the IDF in response to mortar and rocket fire from Gaza. On Tuesday, Israeli aircraft targeted approximately 40 positions in the Gaza Strip belonging to the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups.

Earlier, Hamas and the Iran-backed Islamic Jihad released a joint statement claiming responsibility for the dozens of rockets and mortar shells fired at southern Israel throughout the day.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for all violence emanating from the coastal enclave, as it has ruled Gaza since 2007.

“Hamas chooses to act against the interests of the residents of the Strip and, after it failed with its violent riots along the security fence, has decided to launch and to allow the launch of numerous projectiles at Israeli citizens,” the army says in a statement.

Earlier, IDF Spokesperson Ronen Manelis said in a press conference that the army was prepared to intensify its retaliatory raids if Hamas and Islamic Jihad continued to launch projectiles at Israel, which they have.

“The IDF is prepared for a number of scenarios, is determined to act against terrorist operatives and will continue to fulfill its mission of defending the citizens of Israel,” the army says.