Israel Destroys Hamas Site After Rocket Attacks

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s military said Thursday it struck a “weapons manufacturing site” after Palestinian Islamist “terrorists”  hit southern Israel with rockets.

Palestinian militants had fired missiles from the nearby Gaza Strip following a daytime raid by Israeli forces on the West Bank city of Nablus that killed 11 people and injured 102, Palestinian authorities said.

But with southern Israel under attack, the Israeli military responded with significant strikes. “A short while ago (Thursday), fighter jets struck a weapons manufacturing site belonging to the Hamas Terrorist Organization, located in the central Gaza Strip,” the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

In the remarks, monitored by Worthy News, the IDF confirmed “a military compound” of Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip “used as a naval weapons storage warehouse” was also struck.

The IDF suggested it was difficult to prevent civilian casualties during the raid.  “The compound is located adjacent to a mosque, medical center, school, hotel, and police station. This serves as further evidence as to how the Hamas Terrorist Organization exploits the civilian population of the Gaza Strip by deliberately placing its assets in the heart of civilian areas,” the IDF added.

Hours earlier, Israel said six rockets were fired from Gaza, five of which were intercepted while one fell into an open area. “This strike was carried out in response to the rockets fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli territory earlier tonight. This strike significantly harms the capabilities and prevents further weapon acquisition capabilities of the Hamas Terrorist Organization in the Gaza Strip and specifically in the maritime zone.”

HEAVY BOMBARDMENT

Thursday’s heavy bombardment sent a pillar of black smoke rising over the north of Gaza city. Earlier, people heard the sound of sirens triggered by rockets launched from the Gaza strip in the Israeli towns of Sderot and Ashkelon.

The rockets followed a raid by Israeli forces that the IDF said was aimed at targeting members of the Palestinian terror group.

The raid ran to a four-hour operation which left a broad swath of damage in a centuries-old marketplace in Nablus, a West Bank city known as a Hamas stronghold, reporters said.

Soon after, Palestinians carried the bodies of at least 10 men reportedly killed in the clashes with Israeli troops in the city.

The operation targeted those “planning attacks in the immediate future,” and they “neutralized” three militants, the IDF and Israel Security Agency said in a joint statement.

Thursday’s incidents were among the bloodiest in nearly a year in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, raising the likelihood of further bloodshed.

Israeli forces said they were on high alert following the raids as any violence in the West Bank often leads to an immediate response from militants in Gaza. With tensions rising, residents prepared late Thursday for more clashes in the volatile region.

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