(A7) The leaders of Jewish communities near Gaza have received notification that the IDF is expecting to retaliate for the rocket fire earlier on Saturday, Channel 13 News reported.
According to the report, the retaliatory action is expected Saturday night.
The IDF does not buy the explanation that the rocket launches were a product of the weather and were accidental, reports said.
Meanwhile, the Al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad’s military arm, is evacuating military sites in preparation for the expected retaliation.
Journalist Barak Ravid quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that Israel sent a message to the Egyptian brokers, stating that Israel takes the rocket fire very seriously, especially in light of the fact that this is the second incident this week.
“Israel clarified to Egypt that the incident is not acceptable, even if the launch was a mistake,” he said.
Deputy Defense Minister Alon Schuster (Blue and White) told Kan Reshet Bet, “I assume that we are not at the beginning of an event, but I repeat and reiterate that they know that we do not intend to let them rest if they decide to heat the atmosphere up.”
“There is always some striking prisoner or other such thing in Judea and Samaria or in the entire world, who is annoying someone among the two million people in Gaza. We will not be their punching bag.”
