Gaza rocket fire on Israel resumed on Wednesday morning after a relatively calm night as Islamic Jihad terrorists fired dozens of projectiles at southern Israeli communities near the border.
The military mounted three waves of strikes on the Gaza Strip, hitting dozens of Islamic Jihad targets in the coastal enclave.
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The IDF Homefront Command said that the state of emergency declared in the area on Tuesday stands, but cleared central Israeli cities, most of which were also crippled by rocket fire on Tuesday, to resume their routine.
The latest flare-up followed the targeted killing of top Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Ata, for which the Iranian-backed terrorist group vowed an "unprecedented response."
Video: Reuters
According to the IDF, Islamic Jihad fired over 200 projectiles at southern and central Israel since Tuesday. The military said that 90% of rockets heading towards residential areas were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, adding that of the rockets not intercepted, 60% of hit open areas.
Several rockets his residential buildings across the southern sector, luckily causing only property damage.
The Iran-backed terrorist group said Tuesday that it would mount an "unprecedented response" to Israel's move, saying the Jewish state has "opened the gates of hell."
The group's spokesman, Abu Hamza, warned Tuesday that the "coming hours will add a new title of defeat for [Israeli PM] Netanyahu."
Egypt and the EU resumed their familiar role as mediators on Tuesday, in an effort to prevent the current flare-up from escalating further.
IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman stressed that the relative calm overnight was not indicative of a ceasefire, saying it was more likely that Islamic Jihad sought to ration its weapon stockpile so as to stretch the rocket fire for several days.
"Palestinian Islamic Jihad resumed firing this morning and the group intends to fire rockets in a way similar to what we saw yesterday," Zilberman told reporters on Wednesday morning. "The Islamic Jihad is being meticulous and managing its stockpiles for several days of fighting and is keeping all their options on the table."
This is what's been happening in Israel today: pic.twitter.com/8C5gkyGOq9
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 12, 2019
Zilberman said that Hamas has not joined the fray but "the situation is fragile."
"We are not attacking Hamas and the PIJ targets we are striking are not in the center of Gaza City like 5-story buildings because we understand that we are walking on a tightrope. We do not want to kill civilians which could lead Hamas to join the fighting combat," he said.
Hamas officials warned Tuesday that it would not "abide Israel's aggression."
The Islamist terrorist group's leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said Tuesday that "Israeli aggression will only make the Palestinian people adhere even more to the principles of the resistance."
He added that Israel's policy of targeted assassinations was "doomed to fail," saying that al-Ata's elimination was part of Israel's attempts to "eliminate the Palestinian problem and a move designed to undermine efforts to bring unity in the Palestinian camp."
