Revenge for Jericho? Eight Qassam rockets were fired Tuesday night at Israeli territory from the northern Gaza Strip, but all landed in open areas and caused no injuries or damage.
The rockets were launched both during and after the standoff between IDF forces and Palestinian detainees at the Jericho prison that ended with the surrender of Popular Front Secretary General Ahmad Saadat and other top prisoners.
The IDF responded to the attacks with artillery fire. Forces stationed on the Gaza border fired shells towards the open areas in northern Gaza where the Qassams are fired from.
Earlier, at roughly 8:30 p.m., the Red Dawn alert system identified a Qassam launch, and security forces estimated the rocket landed in an open area, as no damages or injuries were reported. Another rocket fired at 7:00 p.m. apparently landed in Palestinian territory, and a third, fired earlier, hit an open area.
4 Molotov cocktails hurled at Israeli targets
Following the IDF’s operation in Jericho, Israel is concerned that terror organizations will increase efforts to carry out revenge attacks. Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert spoke with IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and directed them to significantly raise preparedness levels in anticipation of Palestinian retaliation.
Leaders of the Popular Front threatened that “Israel will pay a heavy price for its operation in Jericho.”
A senior member of the organization’s military wing warned during a televised interview with al-Arabiya that if Saadat was physically harmed, the group would respond severely.
The PFLP said it would not sit by passively after the events Tuesday in Jericho. “We will respond, and we will respond harshly, whether Saadat is harmed or not,” the official said.
Meanwhile, four Molotov cocktails were thrown at Israeli targets Tuesday evening. Two were thrown at the gates of the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, and two more were thrown at an Israeli car north of Jerusalem. No injuries or damage were caused in the attacks. People and security forces scoured the area for the perpetrators.
Shmulik Hadad, Hanan Greenberg, Efrat Weiss and Attila Somfalvi contributed to the report