File image.
Early on December 4, a series of Israeli strikes hit the Gaza Strip in response to a rocket attack that targeted settlements near the Palestinian enclave.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that a rocket was fired from Gaza at southern Israel late on December 3. The rocket landed in an open field, causing no injuries or damage. Still, an alert was activated near the Gaza border settlements of Nahal Oz and Kfar Aza.
In a statement, the IDF said that the retaliatory strikes targeted a weapons workshop and tunnel used by the Hamas Movement, the de-facto ruler of Gaza.
“The workshop is used as a main site for making most of the group’s rockets in the Strip,” the statement reads. “The strike overnight continues the progress to impede the force build-up [of Hamas].”
Palestinian media didn’t report any casualties as a result of the Israeli strikes, which reportedly targeted Khan Yunis and Rafah.
The military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said that its fighters targeted Israeli warplanes with anti-aircraft guns and ground-to-air missiles during the strikes.
The IDF said later that it targeted a Hamas military post in retaliation for the anti-aircraft fire and released a video showing the strikes.
The escalation in Gaza came as Israeli officials were reportedly concerned about potential retaliation by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad over the deaths of two of its members during an Israeli raid that took place in the occupied West Bank on December 1.
The armed faction launched rockets from Gaza at nearby Israeli settlements in response to members being killed in the West Bank in the past.
Palestinian factions in Gaza don’t appear to be planning to escalate against Israel any further. Nevertheless, violence in the West Bank could once again spread into the enclave.
