Gaza- Israel carried out several airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip in the early hours of 27 January, just a day after Israeli troops committed a massacre that left ten Palestinians dead in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
According to local sources, Israeli jets bombarded the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza with around 15 missiles. The Israeli military claimed it targeted an ‘underground’ rocket-making facility under the refugee camp. Property damages were reported, and the strikes caused a power outage in the area, according to WAFA news agency.
“The attack will lead to significant harm to Hamas efforts to build up its arms,” an Israeli military statement read.
The military statement also claimed that “one of the most significant” Hamas bases in the northern Gaza Strip was targeted by Israeli jets.
The Zaitoun neighborhood south of Gaza City was also struck, as well as an open field east of Beit Hanoun.
Witnesses claimed that before the jets carried out the strikes, Israeli drones fired missiles at several targets. So far, there has been no report of casualties, and the besieged enclave has returned to a state of relative “calm.”
The Israeli strikes came in response to two rockets fired by the resistance towards the settlement of Ashkelon at around midnight, which were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome system.
Shortly before the strikes were carried out, the Israeli mayor of the city of Ashkelon said: “I call on the government to respond firmly and forcefully against the Gaza Strip.” This coincided with reports that the Egyptian government was trying to mediate to ease the tensions. During this time, Israeli Channel 14 news referred to the situation as Benjamin Netanyahu’s “first test,” adding that Israel will “wait and see the quality of the response.”
As the fighter jets approached Gaza to carry out the strikes, resistance air defense systems fired toward them.
On the morning of 27 January, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that he ordered the army to “prepare for action with a range of offensive means aimed at quality targets, in case we need to continue until quiet is restored for the citizens of Israel.”
Gallant added that the resistance suffered a “severe” overnight blow. At around 4:00 am, two more rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel.
Israel’s actions in Jenin yesterday were seen as nothing less than an unprovoked massacre. As a result, the Palestinian Authority (PA) announced the suspension of security coordination with the occupation.
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