The Israel Air Force struck an Islamic Jihad member in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday morning.
The target, named as Ahmed Sa\’ad, took part in the firing of rockets at southern Israeli communities, the IDF said, and planned further attacks in the near future.
Palestinian media sources said a missile struck a 22-year-old motorcyclist in Gaza who sustained serious injuries, along with a 12-year-old boy who suffered moderate injuries.
"We acted to remove an immediate threat to Israeli civilians," the IDF spokesman said. "Sa\’ad was personally responsible for the firing of rockets at Ashkelon last Thursday," he added, referring to an attack that saw five rockets fired at the southern city in the middle of the night, setting off air raid sirens. The Iron Dome anti-rocket system intercepted all of the projectiles heading to Ashkelon in that attack.
Sa\’ad was also involved in planting rocket launchers, the IDF spokesman added. During Operation Pillar of Defense, in November 2012, and an earlier escalation, in March 2012, Sa\’ad fired rockets at Israel as well, according to the military.
According to Palestinian news agency Ma\’an, two other Israeli air strikes on sites used to train Palestinian militants in central and southern Gaza left no reported injuries.
The IDF has been on alert in the south since Thursday for the eventuality of a security escalation. The air force, intelligence units, and the Operations Branch are prepared for a potential escalation.
Security sources said Hamas must enforce the truce arrangement in place since the end of Operation Pillar of Defense, adding that the coming hours will tell whether Hamas understands that fact or not.
The attack represents the first preemtive strike by the IDF on a terrorist target in a long period.
January has seen an upsurge in Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza on southern Israel, with 18 projectiles fired since the start of the month. Sunday\’s air strike can be seen as a message from the IDF that Israel is prepared to target terrorists personally involved in the attacks.
The Israeli Air Force retaliated against a rocket that landed in Israel on Saturday evening.
The IDF Spokesperson\’s office said, "at 23:00 p.m. this evening a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck the Sdot Negev Regional Council."
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, IDF Spokesman said, "the sites attacked this evening are part of the terrorist support network, enhancing terror capabilities against Israel and it civilians. As long as Hamas enables its henchmen to attack Israel, these sites will not be immune from our watchful eye and operational strike, while they are used to formulate, train and develop malicious terrorist intentions."
Saturday\’s attack comes amid recent tensions on the Gaza border. Early last week, the IDF retaliated against two rockets that hit Israel. The IDF said the targets the IAF hit were a military compound and a terror infrastructure site, adding that both strikes hit their targets accurately.
Both targets belonged to Hamas, which the IDF holds responsible for failing to prevent Monday’s rocket fire.
The rockets from last week\’s attack landed in open fields and did not cause damages or injuries.