Israeli Air Force blasts Hamas terror camp in Gaza Strip

Israeli Air Force jets and an attack helicopter struck a Hamas military camp in Gaza, on Sunday night.

By David Isaac, World Israel News

Israeli Air Force fighter jets and an attack helicopter struck a number of terror targets at a Hamas military camp in the north of the Gaza Strip on Sunday night, the Israel Defense Force reports.

The air attack was in retaliation for a missile that was launched earlier that evening from Hamas territory toward the Israeli city of Ashkelon. The missile was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile system, the IDF said. Residents said they heard loud explosions, likely a result of the interception.

The Hamas missile launch may have been in retaliation an attack by Israeli military choppers on two Hamas positions east of the city of Khan Younis early Sunday evening.

That IDF attack was itself a response to an improvised explosive device (IED) tied to a cluster of balloons that terrorists launched from Gaza and which landed in a carrot field in the Negev on Sunday. The balloons contained Arabic writing on them.

This IED appeared different than others sent in from the strip in that it was tied to a model drone. The bomb, on which was written the name of a Gaza engineering college, exploded when a bomb disposal robot handled it. No injuries were reported.

Tamir Idan, head of the Sdot Negev Regional Council, said the incident was a “severe escalation” and demanded that the IDF respond to the attack.

IDF policy is to hold Hamas responsible for any attack emanating from the strip against Israel.