Israel strikes Hamas target in retaliation for rocket fire from Gaza
Hamas is responsible for all terrorist activity within the Gaza Strip, an IDF statement said.
By JPOST.COM STAFFUpdated: OCTOBER 10, 2017 02:11Smoke from explosion in Gaza Strip [file](photo credit: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Reuters)
The IDF struck a Hamas target in the Gaza Strip on Sunday evening after a rocket was fired at Israel from the Hamas-controlled enclave.According to the army, the rocket fired from Gaza was aimed at Israel but exploded within the Gaza Strip. Siren alerts sounded in some communities bordering the Gaza Strip.In response, an IDF tank destroyed a Hamas watchtower in the south of the Gaza Strip.According to the IDF, “the rocket fire constituted a threat to Israeli citizens and an attack on the State of Israel’s sovereignty. Hamas is held responsible for all terrorist activity within the Gaza Strip,” it said.The exchange of fire comes after a spell of relative quiet on the Israel-Gaza border.Recent weeks have witnessed new attempts by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas to reconcile their differences and put an end to their long-running feud.Last week, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah chaired a meeting of the Palestinian cabinet in Gaza.Suggestions that a successful attempt at reconciliation should involve the disarmament of Hamas have been rejected by the group.Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in a violent takeover in 2007 following Israel’s withdrawal from the territory two years before.
![Smoke from explosion in Gaza Strip [file] (photo credit: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Reuters)](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/207875 "Smoke from explosion in Gaza Strip [file]")