IAF bombs Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza, Syria in response to massive rockets attacks
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) on Sunday night carried out a series of strikes against Islamic Jihad terror targets in the Gaza Strip and in Syria in response to the massive rocket fire launched by Islamic Jihad terrorists at Israel earlier in the evening.
Shrapnel from a Kasam rocket launched from Gaza Strip and shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome, fell into a building parking lot in the city of Ashqelon, causing damages to parked cars. Ashqelon, Feb 23, 2020. Photo by Aviv Hertz/TPS
Islamic Jihad terrorists launched a massive barrage of some 30 rockets on civilian targets throughout Israel’s south, sending hundreds of thousands of citizens running for shelter.
About half of the rockets exploded in open space and the rest were intercepted by the Iron Dome defence system. No one was directly injured by the rocket fire, but several people were treated for shock and others were treated for injuries incurred while seeking shelter.
In response, the IAF bombed targets in Gaza, including a strike on an Islamic Jihad terror squad that was preparing to fire rockets from Gaza at Israel. four terrorists were reportedly hit.
In Damascus, the IAF hit an Islamic Jihad site the IDF said was “a significant anchor for the terror organization in Syria.”
The site was used for terror-related research and the development of weapons meant for production in the Gaza Strip and for local production in Syria, the IDF said.
In addition, tens of pounds of AP, a material used as rocket fuel, were manufactured each month at the site, and it also served as a training centre for terrorists.
The Islamic Jihad said two of their men were killed in the strike.
The Syrian army claims that it “immediately confronted” the missile fired by the IAF “with high competence and destroyed the majority of them before reaching their targets.”
In Gaza, the IAF struck underground infrastructures and sites used to store raw materials used for rocket production in Rafah.
In Khan Yunis, the IAF bombed the regional headquarters which included a compound for training.
The IDF stated that it will “respond firmly to Islamic Jihad terror operations that endanger Israeli citizens and violate its sovereignty.”
The IDF “views the rocket attacks against Israeli territory with severity, is in high readiness and will continue to act as necessary against attempts to harm Israeli civilians,” it stated.
The intense exchange of fire began on Sunday morning when the IDF exposed and targeted an Islamic Jihad cell that was in the process of planting an explosive device meant to hit IDF soldiers operating on the Gaza border fence. Two terrorists were killed and another two were injured in the incident.
Later in the day, an IDF tank and bulldozer confronted Gazans as the UDF recovered one of the terrorists’ bodies, presumably as a bargaining chip for later negotiations with the terrorist organizations.
School on Monday was cancelled at various locations in the south, leaving some 65,000 students at home.
The IDF shut down several routes and cancelled train travel in the vicinity of the Gaza
