Itongadol.- Israel holds Hamas responsible for anything that happens in the Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Moshe Ya\’alon said on Thursday after the Israeli Air Force retaliated for rockets fired by Palestinians from the coastal enclave a day earlier.
"Even if the shooters last night were jihadist groups rebelling against Hamas by firing at us, we view Hamas as being responsible for everything that occurs in the territory of Gaza," Ya\’alon said in a statement.
Two projectiles landed in open fields in Sdot Negev late on Wednesday, not far from the western Negev town of Netivot. A radical Islamist Salafist group – the Omar Brigades – claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in response to Hamas killing an Islamic State supporter.
Israel\’s patience towards this type of terrorism should not be tested, the defense minister cautioned, adding, "We will not tolerate any attempts to harm our civilians or allow the return of a reality where rockets are trickling into the state."
After Israeli warplanes struck three militant training camps in response to the rocket fire – aimed at Ashkelon and Netivot – Ya\’alon said Israel "will hit even stronger," if necessary.
"Last summer proved that," he said in reference to a 50-day July-August war that ended with an Egyptian-brokered truce in August. "We will act decisively and firmly to ensure the security of the residents of the South and the citizens of Israel."
The IDF said "hits were confirmed" in the predawn attack that left infrastructure damaged but no casualties.