IDF says Iron Dome mistook gunshots for Gaza rockets during overnight tit-for-tat

IDF spokesman: This is most significant exchange of fire since 2021 war

IDF spokesman Ran Kochav says the overnight exchange of fire between Israel and Gaza “is the most significant since Operation Guardian of the Walls,” the 11-day war between Israel and Hamas last May.

“The strikes tonight were the most significant since Operation Guardian of the Walls,” Kochav tells Army Radio, adding that the IDF utilized “special means” to strike a rocket-manufacturing plant as well as underground targets, without elaborating.

Kochav says that while terror factions in Gaza aimed an anti-aircraft missile at Israeli planes, “they are using outdated weapons, the chance of them hitting our fighter jets is low, but is always possible.”

The IDF spokesman says that at the moment “we are trying to deescalate the situation and separate the fronts,” he says of the rocket from Gaza and the clashes atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Gaza has become the more stable front,” he adds, saying that he is hopeful for a quiet final day of Passover on Friday.