A military operation in the West Bank leads to violence. In the morning, Palestinian militants fire rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. Israel, in turn, responds to the missiles with airstrikes against Hamas facilities.
A day after the killing of 11 Palestinians in an Israeli military operation in the West Bank, both sides have again attacked each other with rockets. Several rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip early Thursday morning, eyewitnesses in the Palestinian territory and the Israeli army said. Shortly thereafter, Israel launched airstrikes on targets in the Palestinian Territories.
According to the Israeli army, the airstrikes were aimed at a "weapons factory" and a "military camp" run by the radical Islamist Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007. There were initially no reports of deaths or injuries.
According to the army, six rockets had previously been fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel. Five were intercepted by the Israeli defense screen and one fell in an uninhabited area. Palestinian eyewitnesses in the Gaza Strip spoke of at least eight rockets fired.
The militant Palestinian group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks. It was therefore a retaliatory action for the deadliest Israeli army operation in the occupied West Bank since 2005.
According to Palestinian sources, at least eleven people were killed on Wednesday, including a 16-year-old boy. According to the Palestinian government, more than 80 other people suffered gunshot wounds during the operation in Nablus. The international community reacted with great concern and called for de-escalation.
