Thursday, October 6, 2016

IDF strikes Hamas target in Gaza following mortar attack

(Times of Israel) An IDF tank attacked a Hamas outpost in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday in response to a mortar shell fired at southern Israel earlier in the day, the army said.

Reports within the Gaza Strip also indicated that Israeli forces struck a site in central Gaza, east of the Bureij refugee camp, though that was not immediately confirmed by the IDF.

There were no immediate reports of Palestinian injuries.

Earlier in the day, a mortar shell fired from Gaza struck an open field in the Eshkol region, the army said.

It was the second such attack by Palestinians in two days.

On Wednesday, a rocket hit the southern Israeli town of Sderot and exploded in the middle of a street, causing some damage to the road, cars and nearby homes. Three people were hospitalized after suffering anxiety attacks.

The Islamic State-affiliated Ahfad al-Sahaba-Aknaf Bayt al-Maqdis terrorist group took responsibility for Wednesday’s rocket launch. In a statement, the group said the attack on Sderot was a response to Hamas arresting several members of the organization.

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