The Israeli army bombed the Gaza Strip on Tuesday evening in response to rocket fire, after the discovery of a tunnel dug from the Palestinian enclave and leading into Israeli territory.
“Tonight a projectile was fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory.
In response, fighter jets and a combat helicopter hit an underground installation of the Hamas terrorist organization in the southern Gaza Strip, ”
the Israeli army said in a statement.
Read also: Israel says it discovered a tunnel infiltrating its territory from Gaza
According to Palestinian security sources, the army carried out two strikes, in Khan Younès and Deir el-Balah (south), on positions of Hamas, the Islamist movement in power in Gaza since 2007 and enemy of the Hebrew state .
A few hours before the exchange of fire, the spokesman of the Israeli army Jonathan Conricus had announced the discovery of a
"tunnel of several tens of meters"
,
"dug from Khan Younes"
and entering Israeli territory.
It was detected in an area of Israeli territory by a system of underground sensors installed near the separation barrier erected between the Jewish state and the Palestinian territory, Jonathan Conricus told a conference call.
But the tunnel did not cross the barrier, assured the military spokesman, specifying that it did not present a risk for the Israeli localities located near Gaza and that it would soon be neutralized.
"It is a violation of Israeli sovereignty,"
said the source, adding that around 20 Gaza tunnels had been unearthed since the summer of 2014. He said he held
"Hamas responsible for any activity emanating from it. of the Gaza Strip ”.
Reacting to the discovery of the tunnel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to
"continue to act ... for the security of Israel and against any attempt to attack our sovereignty or our citizens."
Hamas and the Jewish state have fought three wars since 2008 and exchanges of fire take place sporadically.
Hamas had stepped up in August the launching of incendiary balloons and rocket attacks towards Israel, which responded with airstrikes on positions of the group.
But the two camps had reached an agreement in early September, thanks to mediation from Qatar, to end hostilities and put back on track a fragile truce in force for about a year and a half, also favored by the mediation of the UN and Egypt.
Two million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip, a language of impoverished land under Israeli blockade for more than 10 years and wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.