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Scene. Published by IMEMC News

File: Smoke and fire following an airstrike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, early on January 2, 2022. (Said Khatib/AFP) Published by The Times of Israel

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by IMEMC News
April 19, 2022

Late at night Monday, the Israeli army fired several missiles into sites believed to be run by armed resistance groups in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza strip; The army claims it was retaliating to rockets, allegedly fired from the coastal region.

Media sources in Gaza said the army fired three missiles into the Al-Qadisiya site, run by the Popular Resistance Committees, west of Khan Younis.

The Israeli army said it fired the missiles after the Iron Dome missiles interception system managed to down rockets fired from Gaza.

It added that it also hit sites used by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, and sites run by other armed factions and stated that it struck an “arms manufacturing site.”

The army held Hamas responsible for the missiles reportedly fired from Gaza, regardless of which group was behind them.

The Al-Qassam Brigades said, for the first time, it used surface-to-air missiles against an Israeli fighter jet.
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IDF says it struck Hamas weapons depot in Gaza in response to 1st rocket in 4 months

Military reportedly doesn’t believe terror group launched rocket but says it holds enclave’s rulers responsible; no immediate reports of injuries or damages

By TOI STAFF and EMANUEL FABIAN for The Times of Israel
April 19, 2:00 am

The Israeli military struck targets in the Gaza Strip after midnight on Tuesday in response to a rocket fired from the Hamas-controlled enclave hours earlier.

The rocket attack was the first in nearly four months, ending one of the longest periods of quiet on the Gaza border in years.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it bombed a number of targets, including a site used by Hamas to manufacture weapons. Hamas-affiliated media reported that the Israeli airstrikes targeted a site operated by Palestinian factions west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Witnesses and security sources in the Gaza Strip reported no injuries from the air raid.

“The IDF considers Hamas responsible for what unfolds in the Gaza Strip,” the army said.

The Israeli military struck targets in the Gaza Strip after midnight on Tuesday in response to a rocket fired from the Hamas-controlled enclave hours earlier.

The rocket attack was the first in nearly four months, ending one of the longest periods of quiet on the Gaza border in years.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it bombed a number of targets, including a site used by Hamas to manufacture weapons. Hamas-affiliated media reported that the Israeli airstrikes targeted a site operated by Palestinian factions west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem sought to downplay the strikes.”The Zionist bombing of some empty sites [is] a failed attempt to prevent our Palestinian people from defending the city of Jerusalem,” he said.

The Israeli military struck targets in the Gaza Strip after midnight on Tuesday in response to a rocket fired from the Hamas-controlled enclave hours earlier.

The rocket attack was the first in nearly four months, ending one of the longest periods of quiet on the Gaza border in years.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it bombed a number of targets, including a site used by Hamas to manufacture weapons. Hamas-affiliated media reported that the Israeli airstrikes targeted a site operated by Palestinian factions west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Witnesses and security sources in the Gaza Strip reported no injuries from the air raid.

“The IDF considers Hamas responsible for what unfolds in the Gaza Strip,” the army said.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem sought to downplay the strikes.”The Zionist bombing of some empty sites [is] a failed attempt to prevent our Palestinian people from defending the city of Jerusalem,” he said.

“Congratulations to the men of the resistance who confronted the fighter jets with our anti-aircraft defense,” Qassem added, saying it had been the first time that Hamas had used the surface-to-air missile.

The pro-Hezbollah television network al-Mayadeen said Hamas used a SA-7 shoulder-fired missile, also known as a Strella.

The IDF later confirmed Hamas fired an anti-aircraft missile at the Israeli aircraft, which it said were not damaged.

An unnamed security source told the Kan public broadcaster the air force operates under the assumption that Hamas has anti-aircraft missiles and that the terror group has previously deployed them during Israeli strikes.