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According to a Reuters witness, several explosions shook the Gaza Strip early Monday as Israel’s military said it hit an underground location used by the Palestinian enclave’s Hamas Islamists to manufacture missiles.
There was no early information on fatalities from the air strikes, which came after Israel said it shot down a rocket fired across the border from Gaza over the weekend. That launch was not claimed by the Palestinians. Witnesses in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, another Palestinian area, reported forces encircled a residence in the city of Nablus, resulting in shooting and possibly injuries.
The Den of Lions, a gang of Palestinian militants headquartered mostly in Nablus and neighbouring Jenin that has been subjected to increased Israeli incursions in recent months, claimed to have attacked an army unit. There was no instant response from Israel. Israel has been present since. When smaller Gazan factions strike Israel, Hamas usually retaliates.
According to Palestinian reports, Israeli ground soldiers fired on Hamas border posts on Monday. Sirens wailed in Israeli cities near the Gaza border, alerting residents to the possibility of further rocket attacks.