Palestinian-Islamists launched a barrage of rockets from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip toward Israel’s southern communities. Air raid sirens were sounded across the city of Sderot, forcing its residents to find shelter within 15 seconds in accordance with instructions of the IDF Home Front Command.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit confirmed that two of the missiles penetrated Israeli airspace; one of which was immediately intercepted by the Iron Dome Defense System. The other exploded in an uninhabited area. A third rocket is believed to have failed to enter Israel and instead detonated within the Jihadist-infested enclave.
Air raid sirens that were activated in the southern city of Ashkelon around midnight were later determined to have been a false alarm.
In response to the indiscriminate Palestinian rocket fire, the Israeli Air Force conducted a series of retaliatory strikes against “terror targets” belonging to the Islamist-Hamas rulers of Gaza. The Israeli army said that the targeted installations included the destruction of a “weapons manufacturing site” in the enclave’s southern sector. Israel’s defense establishment further cautioned that it holds Hamas “responsible for (all terror-related) events transpiring in the Gaza Strip and emanating from it,” while further underscoring that “Hamas will bear the consequences for actions against Israeli civilians.”
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett announced that Israel’s response to the launching of missiles that miss targets would be the same as those that scored direct hits, saying ‘whoever fired will become a target and be hit.’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that if anyone in Gaza thinks that he can rear his head after the 12 – 14 November clash between the two sides code-named Operation Black Belt, “he is sorely mistaken.” The Premier added that “We will respond vigorously to any attack against us, and we will continue to guard the security of Israel on all fronts.”