Gaza Militants Launch Rocket Torrent At Israel

Gaza militants launched a stream of rockets at the Negev region in southern Israel on Wednesday. No casualties have yet been reported.

In response, Israeli Defense Forces have shelled two terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip.

The al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement of Palestine, quickly took responsibility for the barrage of rockets in a statement issued on its website.

The statement said that the attack was launched “in response to the continuous Zionist aggression against our people,” and specified an Israeli air strike on Tuesday that killed three of its mujahideen. It described the operation as “breaking the silence.”

Footage shows rockets being launched into Israel from Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised further action. “It seems that the rocket fire came in response to our counterterrorism operations yesterday,” he said. “We will continue to thwart and harm those who wish to harm us, and we will act against them with great intensity.”

Estimates of the number of rockets fired at Israel vary. The Israeli Defense Forces said they were aware of at least 20, while news outlets have reported estimates as high as 55. Islamic Jihad claimed that the militants fired 90 rockets. Three of them were shot down by the country’s “Iron Dome” missile defense system, which is designed to intercept rockets targeting heavily populated areas.

The assault was the latest erosion of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which governs Gaza. In February, a Palestinian militant told the Guardian that jihadists would also respect the ceasefire as long as Israel does. “But Hamas is a government,” he said. “Their interests are not the same as ours. Should we ask for their permission to attack when Israel violates the agreement?”

On Monday, an Israeli soldier shot and killed a Jordanian judge of Palestinian origin. The Tuesday airstrike that killed three members of the al-Quds Brigades brought the number of Gazans killed by Israeli forces this year to 13.

Follow Mary O'Hara on Twitter: @maryemilyohara

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