Arson Terrorism and Rocket Attacks Continue, IDF Bombs Hamas Targets
19 August, 2020 |
4 years ago
Jerusalem, 19 August, 2020 (TPS) -- Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets on Tuesday night attacked Hamas military targets in the Gaza Strip in response to arson and explosive balloons and a rocket launched by Gazan terrorists into Israeli territory during the day.
The IDF stated that one of the targets was a military compound of one of Hamas’ special units.
This was the eighth IDF attack in the Strip in recent days that was carried out in response to the arson balloon attacks.
Earlier in the evening, Gazan terrorists launched a rocket at Israeli civilian targets in the Ashkelon area exploding in an open area, causing no damage or injuries.
Two civilians were slightly injured while falling on the way to the shelters. A 10-year-old girl with a limb injury and a 7-year-old girl with bruises on her face and limbs were treated and evacuated by MDA teams in light condition for further treatment in the hospital.
Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke on Tuesday evening with local council heads from the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip and claimed that the government has “adopted a policy that fires are like rockets.”
“We have been active for the past 10 days straight in shelling the infrastructures of Hamas and the terrorist organizations. We have also imposed various sanctions in areas that are important to Hamas,” he said.
He said that Israel is also preparing “for the possibility of a round or rounds” of violence with Hamas.
“Hamas will be making a very great mistake if it continues like this. Even now it is receiving an indication of where this will lead. It will certainly remember where it has led and I hope that Islamic Jihad also remembers where it has led,” he said ominously.
He further threatened that the IDF has “not spared any measure including – in the event of the development of a campaign – targeted counter-measures, and there is no such restriction today either.”
After months of relative quiet, terrorists in the Gaza Strip have relaunched their campaign to send balloons tied to flammable materials and explosive charges into communities in the vicinity of the Strip.
The arson attacks have ignited fires, but no one was injured in the attacks and no damage to property was caused.
On Tuesday, firefighters worked to extinguish 39 fires.
Most of the fires were small and not dangerous, the Fire Department noted.
However, the KKL-JNF stated that hundreds of fires have consumed thousands of acres, and much damage was caused to trees and animals in the affected areas.
Environmental experts say it will take at least 15 years to rehabilitate the vegetation and wildlife that have been destroyed.
