A theory that a lightning strike triggered Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza last week gained traction in Israel on Tuesday as some lawmakers said it might explain the Israeli military's limited response.
Gaza Strip-based terrorists fired two Grad rockets at southern and central Israel last Wednesday. One hit a home in Beersheba, injuring six, and the other landed in the Mediterranean Sea, causing no harm. Israeli fighter jets struck 20 Hamas positions in Gaza in response.
The incident threatened the volatile Israel-Gaza border with immediate escalation, prompting Egypt and U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov to step up mediation efforts with aim of preventing another armed conflict between the Jewish state and the Islamist terrorist group ruling the coastal enclave.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the other major terrorist group in Gaza, both rushed to deny any involvement in the attack.
Hours after the rocket attack on Israel, a video surfaced on social media showing lightning illuminating the night sky in Gaza and then two flaming rockets streaking into the air.
According to reports in Israeli media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Diplomatic-Security Cabinet now believed the lighting set off a launch mechanism.
Asked about the report, cabinet member Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked told Israel Radio: "I won't discuss security cabinet meetings and I don't know which ministers are chatting with journalists, but I can say that as far as we know, Hamas did not intend to fire those rockets."
