Israel launched its first airstrike into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in nearly four months, and Gaza militants responded in kind, signaling the end of a cease-fire the two sides called in November.
Israel says Gaza fighters haven’t exactly been holding up their side of the cease-fire bargain, anyway. But Wednesday’s strike against Gaza was Israel’s first rocket launch since November, United Press International reports. It came in response to three mortar shells fired from Gaza into the western Negev on Tuesday, UPI says.
Gaza militants responded immediately to Wednesday’s strike, sending two more rockets into the Negev, UPI said.
Israel said it’s had enough of the nagging attacks. The cease-fire has been violated, and now it’s time to respond, UPI cites a spokesman as saying.
“We hold Hamas responsible for everything fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel,” Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said in the UPI report. “We will under no circumstances tolerate a routine trickling in of fire on our citizens or our forces.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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