by Lilach Shoval, Gadi Golan, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff
Despite "unusual" retaliation, IDF insists it does not intend to escalate violence further • Palestinians say two people hurt in strikes • Five Turks detained for trying to storm Israeli consulate in Istanbul in protest of Gaza strikes.
Police forces removing the
rocket from the residential area hit, Sunday
|
Photo credit: Yehuda Peretz 
The Israeli military hit more than
50 terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, following Palestinian
rocket fire at Israel's south.
A senior military official confirmed Monday
morning that "this was an unusual attack, but there is no intention to
escalate further. We intend to deal with all types of [terrorist]
infrastructure in the Gaza Strip."
Other Israeli commanders said the retaliatory
strikes marked the greatest blow suffered by Hamas since Operation
Protective Edge in 2014.
The strikes followed an air raid siren that
sounded across the southern city of Sderot and the Shaar Hanegev
Regional Council at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, sending Israelis scrambling for
shelter. The rocket fired from Gaza landed in a residential area,
exploding next to a house and causing no damage or injuries. Police and
Homefront Command forces cordoned off the area while sappers safely
removed the projectile from the premises.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military
wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, had initially
claimed responsibility for the attack, but later on Sunday the radical
Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis group, a Salafi group affiliated with the Islamic
State group, claimed the attack.
Hamas was quick to distance itself from the
incident, issuing a brief statement to the Palestinian media denying any
involvement in the attack.
Israeli military aircraft and tanks fired at
Hamas terrorist infrastructure at around 3 p.m., hitting several
targets, including a Hamas observation point. A second IAF strike took
place at around 10 p.m. targeting additional Hamas and Islamic Jihad
positions.
"The IAF targeted terrorist infrastructure in
response to projectile fire at the city of Sderot, which violated
Israel's sovereignty and placed Israeli lives at risk. Hamas is the
sovereign ruler of the Gaza Strip and it will be held responsible for
any terrorist attack emanating from Gaza. The IDF will continue to act
decisively at all times to protect and defend the State of Israel," an
IDF statement said.
Military spokesman Lt. Col Peter Lerner said
the operation was meant "to bring quiet to the people of southern
Israel," saying Hamas was trying to "inflict pain, cause fear and to
terrorize Israelis" in the middle of the summer vacation.
Palestinian officials said nearly all of the airstrikes took place in northern Gaza, near the Israeli border.
Palestinian Health Ministry official Ashraf al-Qidra said two Palestinians, including a 17-year-old boy, were lightly wounded.
The attack disrupted the Live Sderot music
festival that had been taking place in the city. Mayor Alon Davidi
consulted with police and military officials, and was granted permission
to resume the festival, which saw some 5,000 visitors. Israelis
gathered to celebrate.
"We'll prove to anyone who wants to harm us
and disrupt our lives that they can't do that," one festival goer told
Israel Hayom. "Naturally, we have some concerns over the rocket fire,
but rocket or no rocket -- life has to go on."
Meanwhile, Turkey's state-run news agency says
police have detained five people who tried to break into Israel's
consulate in Istanbul to protest the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
Anadolu Agency said the five entered a
business center housing the consulate early Monday and were detained by
police who were called to the scene. Security around the building was
increased, Anadolu said.
The incident comes just days after Turkey's parliament
approved a reconciliation pact reached with Israel last month, ending a
six-year rift and paving the way for the mutual reappointment of
ambassadors.
Lilach Shoval, Gadi Golan, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=35829
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