IDF hits Gaza in response to arson terror, 1st attack since May conflict

Following the launch of incendiary balloons on Tuesday that resulted in about 20 fires in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip, the IDF hit several terror targets overnight in response.

By World Israel News Staff

For the first time since Operation Guardian of the Walls in May, when over 4,000 rockets were fired into southern and central Israel over an 11-day period, the IDF hit terror targets overnight in Gaza in response to fire terror launched from the Strip on Tuesday.

It was also the first time that the IDF attacked Gaza since Yemina party leader Naftali Bennett became the new Israeli prime minister. In the past, Bennett has referred to the explosive balloons and kites launched from Gaza as “killing tools,” saying that the IDF should respond to such attacks as it would to rocket fire.

The IDF said that it hit the Hamas military bases.

“Arson balloons were launched from Gaza into Israel yesterday, causing multiple fires. In response, IDF fighter jets struck Hamas military compounds last night, which were used as meeting sites for Hamas terror operatives. Hamas will bear the consequences for its actions,” the IDF tweeted Wednesday morning.

“Fighter jets recently attacked Hamas military bases that served as camps and meeting places for terrorist operatives in the Khan Yunis and Gaza brigades,” the army stated.

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“The IDF is prepared for all the scenarios, including the resumption of hostilities, in the face of continued terrorist operations from the Gaza Strip.”

The army and police were on high alert Tuesday as the Hamas terror group had warned of attacks ahead of the flag march in Jerusalem. The event normally takes place on Jerusalem Day, which fell this year on May 10, but it was postponed due to Arab violence throughout the capital, particularly in the Old City and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.