Israel bombs Gaza Strip in Retaliation for Deadly West Bank Raid

Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip this Friday in response to militant rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave, tensions having risen after a deadly Israeli military raid into the West Bank. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) dropped 15 bombs on militant sites with no casualties reported.

Two rockets were fired into Israel early Friday from the Gaza Strip, prompting an interception by the Israel Air Defense System in the cities of Ashkelon, Zikim and Karmia Kibbutz. Islamic Jihad had reportedly threatened to avenge nine Palestinian deaths in the raid and suspects no militia has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau of the Islamist Hamas movement, described that based on the incident in the West Bank, “The resistance in Gaza has its hand on the trigger and is not isolated from what is happening in the West Bank”.

The raid led to violent clashes between Israeli forces and local militants, leaving nine Palestinians dead, including an elderly woman and members of Islamic Jihad. Following their funerals, clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces broke out in various parts of the West Bank, leaving one dead and seven injured.

In response, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) terminated security coordination with Israel and called on all Palestinian factions to act together. Hamas and Islamic Jihad warned with a rapid retaliatory action with Israel raising its defense around Gaza.

These developments come days before the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel and the West Bank.