Israel has carried out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on an alleged “military site,” claiming the mission was in response to rockets fired from the area. Earlier in the day, Palestinian officials accused Israeli troops of a “massacre” in the occupied West Bank, prompting militant groups to threaten retaliation.
The strikes were announced early Friday morning by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who said they targeted a “underground” facility used to manufacture rockets for Hamas, the political party and armed faction that has ruled Gaza since 2007.
“The attack was carried out in response to the launch of rockets into Israel earlier tonight, which were intercepted by air defense fighters,” the military said, adding that the strikes caused “significant damage to Hamas’ strengthening and arming.”
According to the IDF, at least five rockets were fired toward Israel overnight, with three intercepted, one landing in an open area, and another falling short inside Gaza. Air raid sirens were heard in settlements bordering the Palestinian enclave, including Ashkelon, just north of Gaza.
IDF & Israeli security forces operated in Jenin to apprehend an Islamic Jihad terrorist squad planning imminent terrorist attacks earlier today.
Armed gunmen fired heavily at our soldiers from civilian rooftops as they carried out their critical mission.
See for yourself: pic.twitter.com/Yi8Qgr4f4K
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 26, 2023
IDF & Israeli security forces operated in Jenin to apprehend an Islamic Jihad terrorist squad planning imminent terrorist attacks earlier today.
Armed gunmen fired heavily at our soldiers from civilian rooftops as they carried out their critical mission.
See for yourself: pic.twitter.com/Yi8Qgr4f4K
According to the Palestinian Authority, the rocket salvo came after an Israeli special forces raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank on Thursday, which ended in a shootout with militants and killed nine Palestinians, including a 61-year-old woman. The Israeli Defense Forces said the operation targeted an Islamic Jihad terrorist faction active in Jenin and released footage purportedly showing gunmen firing rifles and throwing Molotov cocktails at Israeli troops, claiming the terror cell was a “ticking time bomb.”
The Palestinian Authority, which has limited control over the occupied West Bank, condemned the operation as a “massacre,” threatening to halt all security cooperation with Israel as a result.
#شاهد .. فلسطينيون يتفقدون آثار العدوان على #جنين pic.twitter.com/e7n7K8rKR7
— قناة راجعين Rajeen TV (@rajeentv) January 26, 2023
#شاهد .. فلسطينيون يتفقدون آثار العدوان على #جنين pic.twitter.com/e7n7K8rKR7
“Security coordination with the occupation government no longer exists,” Palestinian Authority Deputy Prime Minister Nabil Abu Rudeineh said, adding that the decision was made in light of “repeated aggression against our people, as well as the undermining of signed agreements, in reference to commitments from the Oslo peace process in the 1990s.”
Residents in Jenin were seen picking through rubble and burned out buildings in video clips circulated in local media after the refugee camp raid. According to the Associated Press, the attack was the deadliest in more than two decades in the West Bank.
