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“The Palestinian people will not let this crime pass by in silence and will respond accordingly. The path of revolution and resistance will escalate.”
By: Lauren Marcus – worldisraelnews.com
Terrorists in the Gaza Strip launched a volley of rockets at Israel on Tuesday morning after a senior leader from the Islamic Jihad terror group died in prison, triggering air raid alarms in communities bordering the coastal enclave.
According to the IDF, all of the rockets landed in open areas within Israel’s southern Negev region. As this area is not populated, no Iron Dome rockets were fired to intercept the projectiles.
No injuries or property damage were reported.
The rockets were fired at approximately 6:30 a.m., following news that Khader Adnan, who had been on an 86-day hunger strike that began in February, died in his cell in an Israeli prison.
Adnan, who had served previous prison sentences for acting as a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad terror group and providing material support to terrorists, was found unresponsive in Nitzan Prison in central Israel. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“The occupation will pay the price for [Adnan’s] death,” Islamic Jihad said in a statement shortly before the terror group launched rockets towards Israel.
“His death will be a lesson for generations, we will not leave this path as long as Palestine remains under occupation.”
Hazem Kassem, a Hamas spokesman, called Adnan’s death a “cold-blooded execution,” warning that Israel “bears full responsibility” for a likely deterioration in security.
“The Palestinian people will not let this crime pass by in silence and will respond accordingly. The path of revolution and resistance will escalate,” Kassem stated.
Palestinian Authority President Mohammed Shtayyeh called Adnan’s death a “deliberate killing.”
The PA regularly arrests Islamic Jihad terrorists and imprisons them, so the condemnation of Adnan’s death is likely viewed as a political opportunity for the entity.
Kan News reported that senior Israeli military and security officials are gearing up for a potential round of conflict and an increase in terror attacks originating from Judea and Samaria in the wake of Adnan’s death.
“Ramadan is over. The excuses are over. There is no longer any reason for restraint. Now is the time to strike hard at those who seek to harm us,” tweeted Likud MK Danny Danon.
Similarly, Almog Cohen of the Otzma Yehudit party tweeted, “The excuses are over. It’s time for a crushing and painful response!”
“In one day under the Netanyahu government, the enemy in Gaza fired more rockets at us than in an entire year under my government. This is not accidental. I led an aggressive security policy, while Netanyahu leads confusion and weakness,” charged former prime minister Naftali Bennett.
During the IDF attack, a red alert sounded in Sderot and in the surrounding area, and two minutes later, the alarm was sounded in the near Netivot. At this point there are no reports of casualties; Some rockets were successfully intercepted and others fell in open areas.
Seven people were wounded in Sderot earlier in the day when rockets struck the southern city.
The Israel Air Force attacked the western part of Gaza City and the northern part of the Strip, including Hamas targets, Hebrew-language media reported.
