Israel views Hamas as responsible for every rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday following the firing of a Grad rocket from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on Tuesday night.
Alarms sounded across the region, the Israeli army said. There were no injuries or damage from the rocket, which landed near the town of Gan Yavne, outside Ashdod, according to an IDF statement. The projectile was located minutes after sirens sounded in the Lachish region and Ashdod. Many residents of southern Israel reported hearing multiple blasts.
Tuesday's attack was the first time since last year's 50-day Operation Protective Edge in Gaza that a medium-range Grad rocket was fired into Israeli territory.
“We will do everything needed to preserve the quiet attained through Operation Protective Edge,” Netanyahu said, referring to last summer's operation in Gaza. His comments came at the start of a meeting in Jerusalem with visiting US Senator Lindsey Graham.
Earlier, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Israel had no intention of ignoring rocket fire against its citizens. Ya'alon added that "elements in Islamic Jihad" carried out the attack. "If there won't be quiet in Israel, Gaza will pay a very heavy price, which will cause all who plan to challenge us to regret their actions," Ya'alon said. "Hamas is advised to restrain any attempt to fire rockets at Israel or provoke it, otherwise we will be forced to act with greater power. I would not advise anyone to test us," he warned.
Israel's Air Force responded by attacking four targets in the Gaza Strip. The IDF identified the targets, in the southern part of the coastal enclave, as terror infrastructure.