The Israeli Air Force pounded the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday morning with 34 targets hit by jets in response to a barrage of rockets that pounded Israel's South on Monday.
Terrorists in Gaza fired 8 rockets since midnight into Israel. Four were fired at around midnight, and another four early on Tuesday, following the air force's strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip. All projectiles fell in open areas and failed to cause injuries or damages.
The IAF airstrikes targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad assets in the Gaza Strip including a Hamas complex in Rafah that hosted a command center, Hamas residential structures, and a weapons storage facility.
"If Hamas’s aim is to escalate, we will act accordingly," a senior security source said, warning that an increase in Gaza rocket fire will be met with an increased Israeli campaign of air strikes.
Security quiet would be met with a similar response from Israel, the source added.
Palestinian media sources reported several power outages throughout the Gaza Strip following the massive airstrike.
Hamas warned Israel on Monday against waging war on the Gaza Strip, saying this would “open the gates of hell” on Israel. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that Israel bears responsibility for the latest escalation in the Gaza Strip.
The events come after the military operation launched to locate teenagers Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Fraenkel, and Eyal Yifrah reached a tragic end Monday afternoon when security forces discovered their bodies buried in a field northwest of Hebron, no more than a 10-15-minute drive from where they were abducted.