Israel imposed a blockade of Gaza’s sea and land borders after Hamas seized control in 2007. The two sides have since fought three wars.
The Israeli military has carried out air attacks against what it says were targets in the Gaza Strip following a rocket attack from the Palestinian enclave, the second such exchange in recent days.
Saturday’s attacks hit what the military described as “terror targets” operated by Gaza’s ruling faction Hamas.
A statement by the Israeli army said the targets included a “training facility, an anti-aircraft missile launcher post, a concrete production plant & terror tunnel infrastructure”.
Witnesses and security sources said the raids hit two fighter “training sites” in southern Gaza and another target in central Gaza, according to the AFP news agency.
A Hamas spokesman said despite the Israeli action, “Gaza still fights and doesn’t break”.
In response to the rocket fired from Gaza at Israel earlier tonight, our forces just struck Hamas terror targets including a training facility, an anti-aircraft missile launcher post, a concrete production plant & terror tunnel infrastructure.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 16, 2021
It was the second exchange of hostilities in the week. Late on Thursday, rockets were fired at southern Israel, prompting the Israeli army to launch air attacks on Gaza that caused no casualties.
Israel imposed a blockade of Gaza’s sea and land borders after Hamas seized control in 2007. The two sides have since fought three wars.
A fragile truce has endured in recent years despite occasional flare-ups, with Palestinians firing rockets at Israel and the latter responding with air attacks on the coastal enclave.
