"In response to the actions of [the Palestinian movement] Hamas, dozens of fighter jets, attack helicopters and other aircraft of the Israel Defense Forces conducted powerful overnight strikes on around 80 Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip," the IDF said in a statement.
IDF said on Saturday they had started air raids against targets in the Gaza Strip in response to the recent shelling from the area. "In response to the rockets fired from #Gaza at #Israel over the last 2.5 hours, IDF fighter jets and attack helicopters have started striking terror targets in Gaza… More targets will be struck in Gaza," the IDF wrote on Twitter.
Pics of the Israeli warplanes attack northern #Gaza Strip.#GazaUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/44sTjw23g5
— Ahmad Samaan🇵🇸 (@ahmadsaman7) 26 октября 2018 г.
The IDF said late on Friday that up to 12 rockets had been fired from Gaza on its territory. Rocket alert was issued in the city of Sderot and the Sha'ar HaNegev area surrounding it, which are located near the Palestinian enclave's border.
#IDF targeting a militant location in the northern #Gaza Strip this evening. #Israel pic.twitter.com/dptVlTV1ko
— Joe Truzman (@Jtruzmah) 26 октября 2018 г.
The Israeli military subsequently wrote on Twitter that "8/14 rockets fired from Gaza were successfully intercepted by the soldiers operating the Iron Dome" air defense system.
Earlier on Saturday, the IDF said it had registered 30 rocket launches from Gaza in the course of the night.
On the bottom right of the screen, the Iron Dome fires missiles to intercept rockets fired from #Gaza towards homes in #Israel. 8/14 rockets fired from Gaza were successfully intercepted by the soldiers operating the Iron Dome. pic.twitter.com/eX4usJyvnE
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDFSpokesperson) 26 октября 2018 г.
The military said that its Chief of General Staff Gadi Eizenkot had held a meeting with military and security senior officials on response measures to the recent shelling from Gaza.
The attack from the Palestinian enclave and the response air strikes by Israel represent one of the multiple cases of escalation between the two sides that happened this year. The previous exchange of strikes took place on Thursday when the IDF said it registered the launch of a projectile from Gaza and intercepted it with the Iron Dome system.
In response to 30 rockets fired from #Gaza at #Israel, this is what we targeted in Gaza:
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDFSpokesperson) 27 октября 2018 г.
📍2 weapon manufacturing facilities.
📍5 military compounds.
📍1 training compound.
📍1 terror tunnel.
📍Anti-aircraft observation post. pic.twitter.com/AW7d4CST5Q
For decades, Israel has been in conflict with the Palestinians, who have been seeking diplomatic recognition for their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which are partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli government refuses 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.
READ MORE: IDF Uses Tear Gas Against Palestinian Protesters in West Bank — Reports
