Rocket from Gaza strikes southern Israel for second day in a row

Published October 6, 2016

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck Israel for the second day in a row.

The rocket fired on Thursday afternoon triggered the Code Red rocket warning system in communities near the border with Gaza, sending residents scurrying for bomb shelters.

The rocket landed in an open area in a southern Israeli community near the border with Gaza. No injuries were reported in the attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Reports from Gaza on social media said the Israel Defense Forces were retaliating for Thursday’s attack.

On Wednesday, a rocket fired from Gaza landed on a residential street in the southern Israeli city of Sderot. No injuries were reported in the attack on Wednesday, though two residents, ages 15 and 60, were treated for shock at a nearby hospital. The road, as well as cars parked nearby and houses near the landing site, was damaged.

About an hour later, Israel Defense Forces tanks reportedly shelled Hamas targets in northern Gaza. Later on Wednesday Israel Air Force jets also hit a number of Hamas posts in northern and southern Gaza, according to the IDF.

Israel holds the terrorist organization Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, responsible for all attacks emanating from Gaza. Islamic State-affiliated Ahfad al-Sahaba-Aknaf Bayt al-Maqdis terrorist group late on Wednesday claimed responsibility for that day’s attack.

In mid-September, Israel’s Air Force struck three Hamas targets in northern Gaza in response to a mortar shell fired from Gaza into Israeli territory. In August, the IDF carried out dozens of air and artillery strikes on Gaza after a rocket fired from the coastal strip struck a residential area in Sderot.