After peace deals, Gazans fire rocket barrage at Israel; IDF hits Hamas targets
Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of rockets into Israel before dawn on Wednesday, with several intercepted by the Iron Dome system, witnesses said. The spike in violence apparently came in response to Israel signing peace deals with the UAE and Bahrain.
The missile fire came as the Israeli air force launched a series of strikes across Gaza in response to earlier rocket fire that injured two people.
Rocket sirens wailed repeatedly across southern Israel early Wednesday. The IDF said it was investigating the incidents that triggered sirens at least five times over an hour-long period to see if rockets were fired.
Witnesses reported a series of loud explosions and videos showed Iron Dome interceptors streaking up to destroy incoming rockets.
Imagens do sistema de defesa israelense, Irom Dome em ação contra os foguetes disparados da faixa de Gaza que tinham como alvo, o sul de Israel. pic.twitter.com/PEAauhNQ7L
— Conflitos e Guerras (@ConflitoeGuerrA) September 16, 2020
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
Israeli aircraft attacked a series of targets in the Gaza Strip before dawn Wednesday, the army said after at least two rockets were fired Tuesday from the Gaza Strip at Israel, one of which struck the city of Ashdod, injuring two people.
The IDF said war planes and attack helicopters hit some10 targets across Gaza, including an armaments workshop and a Hamas training base used for rocket testing.
The army said the strikes were in response to two rockets fired into Israel on Tuesday and noted that it holds the Hamas terror group that rules Gaza responsible for any violence emanating from the Strip.
IAF airstrike this evening against a militant site in the #Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire earlier in the evening. #Israel pic.twitter.com/vMp4XwmvKx
— Joe Truzman (@Jtruzmah) September 16, 2020
On Tuesday night the rockets triggered sirens in the cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod, potentially sending hundreds of thousands of residents rushing to bomb shelters just as the country’s leader was signing historic accords with two Gulf states, vociferously opposed by the Palestinians.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, soldiers operating the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted one of the incoming projectiles.
The second rocket struck a street in Ashdod, lightly damaging it and nearby storefronts and knocking down a tree.
Later on Tuesday night, IDF troops caught two Palestinian men who entered Israel from the southern Gaza Strip. It was not immediately clear if they were armed. “The suspects are being interrogated at the scene,” the military said.
Security camera footage from the scene showed the moment of impact in Ashdod, as the rocket exploded as it slammed into the street.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said one man, 62, was moderately injured, sustaining shrapnel wounds to his upper body from the rocket. The second man, 28, suffered light injuries to his extremities from broken glass. Four other people suffered anxiety attacks as a result of the apparent rocket fire, medics said.
The 62-year-old man was reportedly delivering food to needy families when he was hit by the shrapnel.
The two men were taken to Ashdod’s Assuta Medical Center for treatment, MDA said.
Police sappers were called to the rocket impact site in Ashdod. “Police forces have closed off the area and at this stage are carrying out their mission to remove the risk from the area. Police sappers are dealing with the rocket and its parts professionally in order to prevent injury and to allow normal life to return,” police said.
The rocket attacks on Ashkelon and Ashdod came as a signing ceremony was taking place in Washington to mark the establishment of formal ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain.
“On this historic night of peace, we received a reminder from our enemies that we must always be strong and prepared to defend Israeli citizens on all fronts and at all times — and this we will do,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in response to the attack.
Terror groups in the Strip have in the past attempted to interrupt major Israeli festivities with attacks. Indeed, television footage of the signing ceremony on Tuesday night was accompanied by information from the IDF Home Front Command about the areas where rocket sirens were triggered.
The TV screens in #Israel this evening – one side is the ceremony of signing of the normalization accords between the UAE,Bahrain and #Israel , and the other side is the Homefront Command alert system warning of rocket fire towards all districts of Ashdod and Asheklon from #Gaza pic.twitter.com/DbcvnqOaq9
— parallel_universe (@ignis_fatum) September 15, 2020
Hamas appeared to claim responsibility for the rocket fire, indicating that it was in response to the normalization agreements with Abu Dhabi and Manama.
“The normalization agreements between Bahrain, the UAE, and the Zionist entity are not worth the paper they were written on,” Hamas said in a statement. “Our people insists on continuing its struggle until it secures the return of all [of] its rights.”
Gaza Palestinians rallied against the deal earlier in the day, burning pictures of the leaders of all four countries and their flags.
Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations brokered an unofficial ceasefire agreement between Israel and terror groups in the Strip last month, following weeks of heightened tensions between the two sides.
Aaron Boxerman and agencies contributed to this report.