Israel attacks Gaza in retaliation for rocket fire

Hamas: "The Israeli bombardment is an extension of the crimes of occupation"

The Israeli Army launched airstrikes on several Hamas military complexes in the Gaza Strip at dawn this Friday in response to the launch of rockets into Israel hours before, after the death this Thursday of nine Palestinians during a raid on a camp refugees in the West Bank city of Jenin.

"The attack will cause significant damage to the strengthening and arming of the (Islamic Resistance Movement) Hamas. The terrorist organization Hamas bears the responsibility for what is happening in the Gaza Strip and is the one who will pay the price for the security violations against the State of Israel", reads a preliminary statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which pointed out that the complex was located in the center of the territory.

Hours later, the Israeli Army reported the alleged destruction of a second Hamas military camp, this time in northern Gaza: "The place had served as one of the organization's major centers of terrorist activity."

Likewise, the IDF has indicated that "this attack has been carried out in response to the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israel", projectiles that have been intercepted and have fallen in an unpopulated area.

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, the Israeli military fired around 15 missiles at the Al Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, damaging Palestinian infrastructure and homes, while there have also been attacks against the southwest and the North.

Likewise, it has indicated that the bombardments in the center of the city would have caused a power outage in the area and would have caused panic among the population, always according to Wafa.

The rockets have been launched after the Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed on Thursday the death of at least nine people in a raid on a refugee camp in Jenin, one of the fatalities being a civilian, after which the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has declared three days of mourning.

Islamic Jihad and Hamas have indicated that Israel will "pay the price" for the "massacre", assuring that they would respond to the attack "soon".

"ISRAELI BOMBING IS AN EXTENSION OF THE CRIMES OF OCCUPATION"

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which controls the Gaza Strip, has indicated this Friday that the "Israeli bombardment is an extension of the occupation crimes against the Palestinian people."

"Our people and their resistance have the right to fight by all means in response to the aggression of the occupation and the continuation of its crimes," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said.

In addition, Qassem has congratulated "the brave resistance" in Gaza, for "defending the Palestinian people", asserting that "it will continue to be the shield and the sword of the people."