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Late on January 26, Palestinian fighters launched rockets from the Gaza Strip in an apparent response to an earlier operation by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the Jenin refugee camp.
Shortly before midnight, two rockets were launched from the Palestinian enclave. Incoming rocket sirens were heard in the southern Iыrael coastal city of Ashkelon, as well as in its industrial zone, and the nearby settlements of Zikim and Karmia.
The IDF said that both rockets were successfully intercepted by its “Aerial Defense Array,” referring to the Iron Dome system.
Later, in the early morning hours of January 27, three more rockets were fired from Gaza. One of the rockets was intercepted by the Iron Dome system, another landed in an open field and a third fell short of the border, according to the IDF. Alarms were sounded in the settlements of Nir Oz, Ein Habesor and Magen.
None of Gaza’s armed factions took credit for the rocket attacks. However, the IDF held the Hamas Movement, the de-facto ruler of the enclave, responsible.
A series of retaliatory strikes hit what the IDF claimed to be an underground rocket manufacturing site and a significant base of Hamas military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, in Gaza.
Palestinian sources said that Israeli fighter jets and combat drones carried out some 18 strikes on two military bases in central and southern Gaza as well as an observation post in the northern part of the enclave. No casualties were reported.
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades said that its air defenses opened fire at Israeli warplanes. Local sources in Gaza reported the launch of at least two anti-aircraft missiles, which were most likely man-portable air-defense systems.
The rocket attacks from Gaza were without a doubt a response to the IDF operation in Jenin refugee camp in the northern Western Bank on January 26 morning. Ten Palestinians, including an elderly woman, were killed in the operation. Israel said that the target of the operation was a cell of the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The operation was condemned by the Palestinian Authority, who suspended security coordination with Israel in response. A series of protests by Palestinians were also organized in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. Several protesters were wounded in clashes with ISraeli security forces.
The situation in Gaza could escalate further in the upcoming few days, as the backlash from the IDF operation in Jenin is not over yet. Many Palestinians are demanding a serious response to deter Tel Aviv.
Why is it called “camp”? Shouldn’t it be called Jenin town or Jenin city after so many decades?
It’s called concentration camp an open prison camp the Jews completely control the occupied territories and access to it including refugee camps inside that’s why there is no development except for food and shelter.
@Pete Do you mean zionist fake Jews
Someone needs to send the opposition – HIMARS.
1000 Kamakazi drones would be a better fit for the Palestinians than a useless peice of gear that would be struck and destroyed within minutes of shooting its first shell.
Israel has the wherewithal to cause Gaza to fall dark and stay that way…
Oh shut up you piece of crap. The fight was never equal to begin. Are you that much of a dumb bastard that you never noticed.
haplo j2 ham ass to haplo j2 jordan to r1a satanyahu: “we are secretly with jew”.