The air force attacked several targets in Gaza early Thursday morning belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization which rules the coastal enclave, in response to rocket fire at southern Israel Wednesday night.
The IDF said its Iron Dome air defense system intercepted the rocket, which had forced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be hustled from a stage during an election rally in the city of Ashkelon. There were no reports of casualties.
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A video of the incident showed Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, slowly walking off the stage with security guards after sirens went off.
After several minutes the prime minister returned to the stage and told the crowd: "The guy who shot [rockets at us] last time is no longer with us," referring to former Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Bahaa Abu al-Atta, who was assassinated by Israel on Nov. 12. "The one who shot just now should pack his bags," Netanyahu said.
The army said it would continue holding Hamas responsible for everything that happens in Gaza, warning the terrorist group that it would pay the price for attacks on Israeli civilians.
Gideon Sa'ar, Netanyahu's main challenger within the Likud party, called in a Twitter statement for a "broad national consensus for dismantling the military infrastructure" of Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
No Palestinian group claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack. Such sporadic launches of rockets and ensuing Israeli airstrikes have happened frequently despite an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire that ended two days of fighting in November, in the wake of al-Atta's assassination.
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz said after the rocket attack: "The situation where Israeli citizens are subject to the whims of terrorists, and the prime minister of Israel cannot visit parts of his country, is a badge of shame for the defense policies in the south, and the loss of deterrence that no sovereign country can tolerate. We will replace the government, change the policies, and restore deterrence and the quiet to southern residents."
