The Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes on a military base of the Hamas Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip, media reported. According to Palestine’s Alray news agency, the Israeli Air Force carried out on Wednesday five strikes on the base, located in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The Hamas air defense systems have reportedly opened fire in response to the airstrikes. There are no reports about any victims of the strikes. Later, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the reports about the airstrike.
“In response to rockets fired from #Gaza to #Israel earlier today, we just struck terror targets in a Hamas compound in Gaza,” the IDF said on its Twitter page. The IDF added that Israel was regarding Hamas as the group, responsible for any developments in the Gaza Strip. For decades, Israel has been in conflict with Palestinians, who have been seeking diplomatic recognition for their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government has refused to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity, and continues to build settlements in the occupied areas despite objections from the United Nations.
