conflict in the Middle East
Military: Rockets fired from Gaza Strip towards Israel
Sirens could be heard in several cities in southern Israel. photo
© Oded Ballilty/AP/dpa
It had been quiet for months, and now the sirens were wailing again in several Israeli cities: just a few days after the parliamentary elections, rockets exploded.
According to the military, rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel for the first time in almost three months.
The Israeli military said the Iron Dome defense system had been activated and a missile intercepted. Three more have already exploded within the coastal strip. Sirens could be heard in several cities in southern Israel.
The attack came two days after Israel’s parliamentary elections, in which right-wing opposition leader and ex-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerged victorious.
On Thursday, a leading member of the Al-Quds Brigades – the military wing of Islamic Jihad – was killed during an operation by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian organization is particularly active in the Gaza Strip. According to local reports from the Gaza Strip, she is said to be responsible for the rocket attacks on the border area.
The Israeli military launched a large-scale military operation against Islamic Jihad in early August. The militant Palestinians then fired more than 1,000 rockets at Israeli towns, according to the military. A ceasefire was agreed after three days of fighting.