Rocket fire claimed by Islamic State-affiliated Ahfad al-Sahaba-Aknaf
Bayt al-Maqdis terrorist group.
IDF tanks struck targets in the northern Gaza Strip Wednesday, after a Gazan rocket landed on a residential street in the southern city of Sderot. No injuries were reported in the rocket attack, though paramedics treated bystanders for shock and a nearby house and car suffered damage.
The rocket attack Wednesday morning came after a calm Rosh Hashanah holiday. Following the IDF’s retaliatory strike, Hamas ordered its operatives to leave their posts in western Gaza City. Hamas leaders have been unreachable on their cellular phones.
The Islamic State-affiliated Ahfad al-Sahaba-Aknaf Bayt al-Maqdis terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the rocket attack, though Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks launched from the Gaza Strip, which it controls.
The Ahfad al-Sahaba-Aknaf Bayt al-Maqdis terrorist group launched the rocket as part of an ongoing jihad campaign and due to recent arrests by Hamas of Salafist activists.
Magen David Adom emergency services paramedics Oren Benitah and Aviv Shneur were among the first to arrive at the scene of the rocket attack in Sderot. They reported glass shards from car windows scattered near the impact site. The paramedics treated a 15-year-old girl and a 60-year-old man for panic attacks they suffered as a result of the rocket strike and evacuated them to Barzilai Medical Center.
Minutes after the rocket landed, Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi said in an interview with Army Radio that the rocket fire “caused damage to a car and a bit of damage to a house.”
The mayor added that “it was one strike. There are no injuries. There is damage. We are dealing with the incident at the moment. We are strong. The welfare department is dealing [with it]. Always follow instructions — run to a shelter when there is an air raid siren.”
Later, Davidi said in a statement to the government, “There must be an understanding that the word ‘drizzle’ [widely used to refer to light rocket fire on southern Israel] should be removed from our lexicon. We trust the prime minister and defense minister, and we expect them to respond in a manner that will cause those responsible for the rocket fire to understand that this must be the last time, and that rocket fire like this comes at a steep price.”
He went on to say, “We will not allow anyone to destroy our residents’ daily routines. If we cannot have calm — they will not have calm, either. I ask of Sderot residents to remain alert and to remain close to shelters.”
By Israel Hayom.com
