Planes from the Israeli Air Force. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – As Israelis were in the midst of Sukkot festivities, terrorists in Gaza launched a Grad rocket deep into southern Israel on Tuesday night. The rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system over the coastal city of Ashdod. No injuries or damage were reported.

Later on Tuesday night, the Israeli Air Force responded by striking a number of Hamas terrorist sites in Gaza. A Salafi terrorist group, the Islamic State-affiliated Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade, took responsibility for Tuesday’s rocket fire. The group has been behind a string of recent rocket attacks against Israel. But Israel holds Gaza-ruling Hamas responsible for all such attacks from the area.

Despite the rocket fire, Ashdod Mayor Itamar Shimoni and Ashkelon Mayor Yehiel Lasri decided that public holiday events in their cities would go ahead as scheduled. “We won’t capitulate to terrorism and we won’t let terrorists dictate our lives,” Shimoni said, Israel Hayom reported.