Rocket launchers in Gaza. Photot: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The IDF hit at least two terror targets in the Gaza Strip on Thursday in response to rocket fire that struck southern Israel amid ongoing regional tensions stemming from the US recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital on Wednesday.

According to the IDF, a rocket was fired from northern Gaza and exploded in southern Israel. In response, Israeli tanks and aircraft hit two terror targets in Gaza.

Earlier in the day, two rocket launches from Gaza triggered sirens in the Hof Ashkelon and Sha’ar HaNegev areas in southern Israel, but the rockets failed to reach Israel and landed in Gaza.

The Salafi Islamic terror group Tawhid al-Jihad, which has in the past sought to overthrow Hamas’ rule in Gaza, took responsibility for the rocket launches. Nevertheless, the IDF said Thursday that it “holds Hamas responsible for the hostile activity perpetrated against Israel from the Gaza Strip.”

The IDF also hit Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza last week following mortar fire targeting an Israeli military base.