Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip fired a new rocket at Israel today, causing no injuries but the third consecutive day of launches from the enclave.
According to the Israeli Army, the projectile sounded the alarm in the town of Sderot, the closest to the Strip, and was intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.
This rocket is the third in three days in a row and arrives in a framework of growing tension, triggered by the escape of six Palestinian prisoners from a high-security Israeli prison.
While four of them were recaptured in recent days, two of them are still fugitives.
The two rockets launched yesterday and the day before yesterday were followed by Israeli retaliatory bombings on targets of the Islamist movement Hamas, which de facto rules the enclave and for which Israel is responsible for all hostilities emanating from there.
In recent days, there have been more demonstrations in support of the criminals, both in East Jerusalem and in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
“We will continue to devote all our capabilities, tools and technology to catching the terrorists who escaped,” Israeli Army Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said today during a meeting with local commanders in reference to the search for the criminals.
He later added that the Army is “working to preserve security on all fronts” and warned that “if the situation escalates, Hamas and the Gaza Strip will pay a high price.”
While these rocket fire and subsequent retaliatory bombings have not caused any injuries or serious damage, these three consecutive days of hostilities in the area represent the first series of attacks since the escalation of war last month. May, the bloodiest since the 2014 war.