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On November 26th, 2 rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israeli territory, with 1 being intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system. The other one fell into an open field.
No casualties were reported.
On the previous day, a mortar shell was fired from Gaza and it landed in an open area.
2 rockets were just fired from #Gaza at Israeli civilians.
1 rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome Aerial Defense System.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 26, 2019
Nine days of calm between Israel and Gaza were just broken when a projectile was fired from #Gaza at #Israel.
Thankfully, it landed in an open area.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 25, 2019
This prompted a response from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which claimed that it had struck Hamas targets in Gaza, which it held accountable for the rocket launches.
In response to the rockets fired from Gaza at Israeli civilians earlier tonight, our fighter jets just struck a number of Hamas terror targets in #Gaza.
Hamas will bear the consequences for actions against Israeli civilians.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 26, 2019
Fighter jets hit a number of targets in southern Gaza, including one site “for the production of arms,” the IDF said.
“The strikes were carried out in response to the rockets that were fired from the Strip toward Israel. The Hamas terror group is responsible for all violence emanating from the Strip,” the army said.
In the early hours of November 27th, the IDF said that it had carried out a second wave of strikes, targeting an underground facility in northern Gaza.
Just moments before the IDF response was launched, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the rockets fired towards Israel were “a serious mistake.”
“If someone in Gaza thinks it’s safe to attack us after Operation Black Belt — they’re making a serious mistake. We will respond aggressively to any attack against us, and will continue to ensure the security of Israel on all fronts,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Operation Black Belt refers to a 48-hour exchange between the IDF and Islamic Jihad, after a strike in Gaza killed one of its commander, while another strike in Damascus failed to kill a senior member of the group.
There were two rockets launched at Israel and a mortar shelling in two days, with one rocket being intercepted and the other one falling into an open field, the mortar shell also hit an open field.
The only reported injury was a woman who fell while running towards a bomb shelter.
This dubious escalation took place one day after IDF Chief of General Staff LTG Aviv Kohavi met with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US General Mark A. Milley to discuss regional developments.
Today, the IDF Chief of General Staff LTG Aviv Kohavi met with the Chairman of the @thejointstaff, Gen. Mark A. Milley in Israel. The two discussed current operational issues & regional developments.
The US-Israel alliance remains as strong as ever ??@DeptofDefense pic.twitter.com/9oqsgiJLXE
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 24, 2019
The weekly Friday marches by Palestinians along the Gaza fence were cancelled as of November 22nd.
The move — being only the third and fourth time the weekly demonstrations were canceled since they began in late March 2018 — was seen as marking an attempt by Gaza’s Hamas to avoid a confrontation with Israel.
Despite that, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to urgently need an escalation so as to prove his value to the Israeli people. After all, he is under threat of indictment, as the Attorney General announced plans to investigate him on several counts of corruption.
Netanyahu needs to extend his assumption of the Prime Minister seat for as long as possible, especially since there appears to be a complete failure in establishing a government following a 2nd round of elections and a 3rd round edging closer.
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