Israel launched airstrikes on Palestinian terrorist targets in Gaza early Wednesday morning local time for the first time since last month’s ceasefire after several fires were set inside Israel by incendiary devices launched from the territory.
The Times of Israel reported:
The IDF carried out a series of airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning in response to over two dozen fires in southern Israel caused by incendiary devices launched from the coastal enclave.
Footage posted by Palestinian media outlets in Gaza showed explosions lighting up the sky in both the northern and southern Strip overnight Tuesday-Wednesday, with reporters saying sites belonging to Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades were among those targeted.
No Gazans were injured in the strikes, the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian media center initially reported.
Palestinian terrorist groups began using incendiaries — often carried by balloons — several years ago, after the Iron Dome missile system proved effective against rockets. The incendiaries set fire to Israeli farms and damage nature reserves.
It is unclear whether this exchange of force will end the ceasefire entirely. Hamas, which rules Gaza, may have wanted to test the resolve of Israel’s new government, led by Naftali Bennett, who replaced Benjamin Netanyahu this week.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new e-book, The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it). His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.