Overnight air strikes hit Gaza day after militants fired rockets south of Israel
Israeli air strikes hit Gaza overnight on Thursday. Confirming the reports, the Israeli military said it struck Gaza as sirens warning of incoming rocket fire sounded again in Israeli areas around the strip.
This comes after militants on Wednesday fired a rocket into Israel’s south setting off sirens and raising already heightened tensions under the country’s new ultranationalist government.
The rocket from the Gaza Strip was intercepted, according to the military.
Israel usually responds to rocket fire with airstrikes, raising the possibility of further escalation.
Local residents reported hearing explosions.
Israel’s rescue service said it received no reports of injuries except for a 50-year-old woman who slipped and fell while running to a shelter.
The action in Israel’s skies Wednesday comes after Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group has threatened Israel over the combative stance of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has promised harsh treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.
From the occupied West Bank to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, many Palestinians revere prisoners as heroes for the Palestinian cause.
Israeli-Palestinian violence has spiked in recent days as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited with a call for calm.
