Israel strikes Hamas terror target in Gaza in response to rocket fire

The IAF attacked a Hamas military compound in central Gaza in response to earlier rocket fire.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Updated: JANUARY 26, 2016 00:22
A rocket is launched from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel (photo credit: REUTERS)
A rocket is launched from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Israel Air Force struck a Hamas military site in the central Gaza Strip overnight between Sunday and Monday in retaliation for rockets fired into Israel a few hours earlier.
The rocket attack activated warning sirens in the Sha’ar Hanegev region, sending local residents fleeing for cover. A rocket exploded in an open area, failing to cause injuries or damage, the army said.
Islamic State-affiliated Salafi jihadist organizations are penetrating the Gaza Strip and have been behind all rocket and border bomb incidents in the past year and a half, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot told a Tel Aviv security conference last week.
“All of these groups challenge Hamas and seek to activate fire against us,” he said during a conference hosted by the Institute for National Security Studies.
Eisenkot noted that ISIS receives its highest levels of support in the Arab world from Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, describing the finding as “disturbing.”