Israeli jets hit Gaza after rocket fire into Israel

AFP  |  Jerusalem 

Israeli aircraft struck bases in early Friday, the military said, after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants hit a Jewish theological seminary in

There were no reported casualties on either side.

"Last night, a rocket was launched from the Strip into Israeli territory," Friday's military statement said.

It said that in response the "fighter jets and aircraft targeted in military compounds and a naval force military compound as part of a strike on a number of terror sites throughout the Strip." The seminary, in the town of Sderot, was empty at the time of the rocket attack as students had left to return to their homes elsewhere to celebrate the Jewish sabbath -- which begins on Friday-- with their families.

"If the rocket had hit a few hours earlier there would have been a disaster," former Amir Peretz, a resident, said in an interview Friday with Israeli public radio. said the building was damaged when it was hit "with full force".

The incident came hours after Israeli warplanes bombed bunkers at a Hamas base in southern Gaza on Thursday, causing no casualties, according to a Palestinian security source.

That strike came after Israeli air defences intercepted a previous rocket launched from Gaza, the first since hundreds were fired from the enclave in early May in a flare-up which killed 25 Palestinians and four Israelis.

Israeli authorities on Wednesday announced a ban on fishing off Gaza, in response to the launching of balloons, fitted with incendiary devices, into Israeli territory to set fire to farmland.

"Due to the continuous launching of incendiary balloons and kites from the towards ... not to allow access to Gaza's maritime space until further notice," the Israeli defence ministry department responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, COGAT, said.

A for the Israeli fire service said incendiary balloons from Gaza caused seven fires on Tuesday alone.

In the past year, Palestinians have succeeded in setting fire to large areas of farmland in

Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008.

And there are mounting concerns that another flare-up could occur ahead of Israel's September 17 elections.

The said Friday it "holds Hamas responsible for all events transpiring within the Gaza Strip and emanating from it.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Fri, June 14 2019. 12:15 IST