By Aryeh Savir/TPS • 30 April, 2019
The IDF has announced that the Islamic Jihad terror group is behind the rocket attack on southern Israel on Monday night, and has sanctioned the Gaza Strip in response to the attack.
Gazan terrorists on Monday night fired a rocket towards Israel. The rocket exploded in the sea, a fair distance from the coastal city of Ashdod, causing no injuries or damage. Sirens did not go off, but the explosion was well heard throughout the city.
The IDF stated Tuesday that the rocket fire was deliberate, an attack launched from the Al-Atra area in the northern Gaza Strip, and estimates that a malfunction caused the rocket to miss its target and land in the sea.
In response, the IDF has reduced the fishing zones off the Gaza coast to six nautical miles, only weeks after it the area was expanded.
In recent weeks, the Islamic Jihad has been taking steps to disrupt the un-announced understandings between Israel and Hamas, which rules the trip. The terror group has been trying to drag the area into deterioration, while concealing its actions from Hamas, the IDF said.
Israel has reportedly agreed to an Egyptian-mediated long-term ceasefire with Hamas, which includes the broadening of the fishing zones off the Gaza coast, the entry of goods and the transfer of Qatari funds into the Strip.
The IDF named senior Islamic Jihad terrorist Bahaa Abu al-Ata, commander of the northern Gaza Strip, as the one responsible for the attacks. The IDF published his picture, a veiled threat.
The IDF noted that the shooting emanated from the area under al-Ata’s command. He receives his order from Islamic Jihad commander in Syria Ziyad Nakhla, and intents to carry out further attacks. The IDF is prepared for the various scenarios, it said.
“We are facing significant days,” Remembrance Day, Independence Day, Nakba Day, the date of the US Embassy’s relocation to Jerusalem and the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv, the army pointed out.
Furthermore, there are attempts by many countries to carry out processes for the benefit of the citizens of the Gaza Strip, the IDF noted.
“Despite statements about the coordination between the Islamic Jihad and Hamas, in practice, the Islamic Jihad does not address Hamas’ directives and acts alone. Hamas is still responsible for everything that happens in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF stated.
