Israel Retaliates at Hamas for Firing Projectiles from Gaza

Israel and Hamas continued to exchange fire on July 16 after a weekend of the two firing a bevy of projectiles at each other.

According to Haaretz, Israel struck two Hamas locations in Gaza where they believed Hamas was launching the fiery kites and explosive balloons into Israel. Hamas responded by firing a rocket into Israel. There have yet to be any sign of casualties.

This past weekend, Hamas launched over 200 projectiles into Israel, prompting Israel to shellack Hamas with dozens of strikes. Three Israelis in Sderot were injured in the strikes.

Additionally, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are taking measures to prevent fuel and gas from entering Gaza and held a ground incursion military drill as a warning to Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated the strikes between the two would not stop anytime soon, calling it “a protracted campaign.”

“There is no such thing as a ceasefire which excludes the fire kites and fire balloons,” Netanyahu said, referencing the ceasefire agreement brokered by Egypt on July 14 between Hamas and Israel. “For a hundred years we have been fighting terrorism, fighting it with force. In this place at the moment, this is the line of friction between Islamic terror and the Jewish state, and we are determined to win. It involves an exchange of blows, it’s not over yet.”