Israel Defense Forces struck more than 200 terror sites in the Gaza Strip on Friday after Hamas violated a week-long ceasefire by launching rockets at the Jewish state.
Several of the airstrikes targeted Khan Yunis and Rafah in southern Gaza, according to the IDF. It is expected to expand its ground operation to those areas.
Concurrently, ground forces in northern Gaza destroyed booby-trapped structures, tunnel shafts, rocket launch sites and other Hamas infrastructure.
Navy missile boats and tanks also carried out strikes, the military stated.
Palestinian terrorists fired a rocket from Gaza at about 6 a.m. The Iron Dome air-defense system intercepted it.
An hour later, terrorists fired several projectiles at the Jewish state, setting off sirens in Kibbutz Holit. The rockets landed in open areas, causing no injuries or damages.
“Hamas violated the operational pause, and in addition, fired towards Israeli territory. The IDF has resumed combat against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza,” the military said.
Alarms continued to blare across southern Israel throughout the morning, and in the country’s center later in the day.
Five IDF soldiers were wounded by a mortar shell that struck near the southern community of Nirim. Three of the soldiers were in moderate condition. The others were lightly hurt.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi met on Friday with top military brass “prior to the start of the second phase of the war.”
