Israeli Jets Pound Gaza

[MUP]

Israeli jets pound Gaza, hit 34 targets in overnight strike

By JPOST.COM STAFF, YAAKOV LAPPIN

LAST UPDATED: 07/01/2014 10:27







IAF strikes dozens of Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip; several more rockets hit southern Israel on Tuesday morning.
Smoke rises after IAF airstrike in Gaza [file]
Smoke rises after IAF airstrike in Gaza [file] Photo: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters


The Israeli Air Force pounded the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday morning with 34 targets hit by jets in response to a barrage of rockets that pounded Israel's South on Monday.

The rocket fire continued following the IDF strikes. Early Tuesday morning, five rockets fired from Gaza landed in southern Israel. Later, at around 8:00 a.m. the army confirmed that an additional four rockets landed north of the town of Sderot. One of the rockets caused a fire in a field which firefighters extinguished and another damaged a road.

Related: •
Hamas: Attack on Gaza will 'open gates of hell' on Israel


The IAF airstrikes targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad assets in the Gaza Strip including a Hamas complex in Rafah that hosted a command center, Hamas residential structures, and a weapons storage facility.

"If Hamas’s aim is to escalate, we will act accordingly," a senior security source said, warning that an increase in Gaza rocket fire will be met with an increased Israeli campaign of air strikes.

Security quiet would be met with a similar response from Israel, the source added.


Palestinian media sources reported several power outages throughout the Gaza Strip following the massive airstrike.







Hamas warned Israel on Monday against waging war on the Gaza Strip, saying this would “open the gates of hell” on Israel. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that Israel bears responsibility for the latest escalation in the Gaza Strip.


The events come after the military operation launched to locate teenagers Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Fraenkel, and Eyal Yifrah reached a tragic end Monday afternoon when security forces discovered their bodies buried in a field northwest of Hebron, no more than a 10-15-minute drive from where they were abducted.