The Israeli military hit 18 Hamas terror targets in the Gaza Strip overnight in response to a terrorist explosive device planted near the Gaza border that wounded four Israeli soldiers on Saturday, two of them seriously.
The Israeli Air Force hit eight Hamas targets characterized as "unique," including weapons manufacturing infrastructure and training facilities. Among the targets were also two Hamas observation points, which were shelled by IDF tanks.
Amid the mounting border tension, residents of Israeli communities located near the border with Gaza were kept awake as more than ten Color Red early warning sirens wailed throughout the night. On Sunday morning, however, the IDF said the sirens had been false alarms.
But about an hour after the IAF strikes, a rocket fired from Gaza scored a direct hit on a home in one of the Shaar Hanegev communities while the residents were inside. Fortunately, the rocket failed to detonate and no one was hurt. The home, however, sustained extensive damage.
The Palestinians, meanwhile, reported several casualties in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum leveled harsh criticism at the IDF, saying, "We blame the Israeli occupation for the inevitable result of the ongoing escalation against the people and the resistance in Gaza.
"The scope of the occupation's aggression against the resistance's positions demonstrates that they fully intended to escalate the tension. The Palestinian resistance will not give up its duty to defend the Palestinian people, and it will take every responsibility in defending them and countering all aggression."
Earlier Saturday, an explosive device that had been planted near the Gaza border fence and attached to a flag a day earlier, detonated during a Palestinian protest near the border.
Four Israeli soldiers were wounded, two seriously and two moderately. The Israeli media said it was the highest number of Israelis wounded in a single incident since Operation Protective Edge in Gaza in 2014.
