IDF Strikes 160 Targets in Gaza Following Massive Rocket Barrage

IDF air, naval, and ground forces targeted approximately 160 military targets belonging to Hamas and PIJ terror organizations throughout the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military has detected some 460 rocket launches from Gaza since Monday evening, with about 100 of them intercepted by Iron Dome systems

IDF Strikes 160 Targets in Gaza Following Massive Rocket Barrage

Photo: Nir Ben-Yosef / IAF website

Israeli fighter jets, attack helicopters, tanks, and naval ships have struck dozens of Hamas and PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) military targets throughout the Gaza Strip since Monday evening.

The IDF targeted approximately 160 military sites, including three governmental structures that were used for military purposes. One such structure was Hamas' interior security headquarters in the Rimal Neighborhood (see image below). The building is used for military purposes and serves Gaza's interior security administration. The headquarters leads continuing attempts to carry out terror attacks against Israel.

Among the sites struck in the past 24 hours are many Hamas military targets, including an offensive terror tunnel in Darj, four military compounds in Gaza City, Beit Hanoun, Jabalia and Khan Yunis, and a military post used for launching rockets from Khan Yunis at Israel. Struck PIJ targets include two military compounds in Khan Yunis and military compounds in Deir al-Balah and Tel al-Hawa.

The IAF also targeted a storage warehouse in Khan Yunis, a military compound in Zaytun and a weapons manufacturing site in Sheik Omdan. In addition, the Israeli Navy targeted a unique vessel belonging to Hamas' naval forces in the Nuseirat Harbor of the southern Gaza Strip.

Another strategic target was the building of the Al-Aqsa TV Broadcasting Station, located in the center of Gaza City. The broadcasting station is owned and operated by Hamas and has contributed to Hamas' military actions, including by providing operational messaging to militants, directing and explicitly calling for terror activities against Israel, and providing guidance on how to carry out such terror activities.

The strikes were carried out in response to a massive barrage of rockets and mortars fired from Gaza at Israeli territory. Since Monday evening until now, some 460 rockets were launched from Gaza at Israel’s south. Most of them landed in open spaces, and approximately 100 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.

The barrage began after a Kornet anti-tank guided missile was fired from the Gaza Strip at a bus that was parked in the Sha’ar Hanegev region of southern Israel, a few hundred meters from the Gaza border.

The bus caught fire after the projectile hit it. One serviceman, 19, was seriously injured in the attack. The bus had previously been filled with other soldiers, who managed to exit before the missile struck. The driver of the bus, 25, was taken to the hospital after he suffered a panic attack, medics said. At least 70 Israelis have been reported injured by rockets that hit residential houses, streets, and other civilian infrastructures.

The IDF holds Hamas responsible for all events transpiring in and from the Gaza Strip, and the terror organizations will bear the consequences for its actions, the military said.

 

[Source: IAF website, Times of Israel]