Terrorists in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday launched a volley of rockets towards the Mediterranean Sea.
While the rockets did not cross into Israeli territory, their launch triggered an alert on the IDF Home Front Command’s warning application.
Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades said in a statement posted on Telegram that it fired the rockets as part of a drill “simulating raids on several Zionist military sites and fortifications.”
Last Thursday, Israeli authorities reopened the country’s sole pedestrian crossing with Gaza, after terrorist groups in the Palestinian enclave temporarily agreed to end weeks of rioting along the border.
Hamas staged violent riots along the frontier on a near-daily basis throughout September, targeting Israeli forces with explosive devices and gunfire, renewing the launch of incendiary balloons into Israeli territory and setting fire to tires in the Strip.
Following talks brokered by Egypt, Hamas told negotiators that it would put an end to the incessant rioting.
The riots and terror balloons are believed to be a form of Hamas pressure on Israel and Qatar. JNS previously reported that Doha notified Hamas in mid-September that it did not intend to renew its monthly aid package of $30 million.
Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Jerusalem was ready for a possible conflict.
“We don’t want an escalation and are not seeking a fight, but if we arrive at a point where we need to act, ‘Operation Shield and Arrow’ should be a reminder to all [Gaza-based] terror groups about the capabilities of [Israel’s] security apparatus,” Gallant said at a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war.
He was referring to the IDF’s five-day campaign in May in which the military assassinated several top Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders in Gaza. During the fighting, PIJ launched more than 1,250 rockets at Israel, to which the IDF responded by striking nearly 400 terror assets in the Strip.
“If Israeli civilians or soldiers are harmed, we will not hesitate to use all of our power to ensure the safety of citizens and return quiet to the border,” added Gallant.
