Israel again intercepted rockets fired from Gaza Strip

Warning sirens sounded in the southern Israeli town of Sderot on Saturday evening. Locals said they heard explosions shortly after the shelter was called. Impressive anti-missile shields managed to intercept it.

Today’s episode comes after a very violent day. Is that Friday night Israel saw its biggest confrontation with the Gaza Strip in months, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacked Hamas positions in the enclave and 36 rockets from marginal militant groups were fired at southern Israel.

The initial response from an Israeli tank came after the launch of the first missiles, around 11 p.m. As a result of the attack, at least 17 more rockets were fired at communities in southern Israel.

Overnight, the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted six rockets, while the rest fell in open areas, the IDF said.

The IDF reported early Saturday morning that its planes had attacked Hamas’ underground infrastructure and rocket launchers in Gaza.

The Nidal al-Amoudi division of the Fatah-linked Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, claimed responsibility for the rockets and both claimed that its operations were carried out in response to the recent violence in Jerusalem.

However, the groups are unlikely to have fired rockets without Hamas’s consent, sources in Gaza said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security cabinet meeting on Saturday in connection with the recent rocket fire. After the meeting, the prime minister said Israel was ready to face any security threat.

The IDF initially asked local residents to stay near bomb shelters and avoid gatherings and farm work on Saturday morning.

Tension in Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for calm in Jerusalem on Saturday after recording the largest clashes in years in the holy city between far-right Jews, Palestinians and security forces.

“Above all, we want to maintain law and order … Now we demand that the law be observed and I call on all parties to calm down,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

“We want to maintain the freedom of worship as every year for all the inhabitants and all the tourists of Jerusalem”, he declared in reference to the prayer in the esplanade of the mosques, holy place of Islam, in the month of Ramadan.

Netanyahu, speaking after an emergency meeting of security officials, also referred to the Gaza Strip, from which around 30 rockets were fired overnight from Friday to Saturday.

In retaliation, Israeli tanks, combat planes and helicopters attacked, according to the army, the positions of Hamas, the armed Islamist movement which has controlled this Palestinian enclave under Israeli blockade since 2007.

“On the Gaza Strip, I gave the order to prepare for all scenarios,” the prime minister said.

A fragile truce prevails between Israel and Hamas after three wars between the two parties (2008, 2012 and 2014).

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