Israel attacks Gaza after Jenin carnage, drawing Palestinian retaliation

Israel has launched airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip a day after killing at least 10 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, prompting the Palestinian resistance to fire rockets at the occupied territories in retaliation.

The Palestinian Information center said Israeli warplanes raided areas west and south of Gaza, including posts belonging to the Palestinian resistance, on Thursday night and Friday at dawn.

The Quds News Network said that Palestinian citizens' homes have been inflicted with severe damage as a result of the violent Israeli bombing of a resistance site in the central Gaza Strip. 

In retaliation, the Palestinian resistance responded to the aggression by firing retaliatory rockets at illegal Israeli settlements surrounding the besieged Gaza Strip. Israeli media confirmed that at least eight rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military claimed that the rockets were intercepted by missile defenses, and said there were no injuries reported.

Security sources in Hamas said there had been 15 strikes on the enclave, with no injuries reported so far.

Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades confirmed that its air defenses responded to the hostile Israeli warplanes in the skies of the Gaza Strip, with surface-to-air missiles and anti-ground missiles.

The Israeli air raids were carried out a day after 10 Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank.

Nine Palestinians lost their lives following a raid on Jenin refugee camp in the northern part of the West Bank. Israeli forces gunned down a 10th Palestinian during clashes in the holy occupied city of al-Quds.

In Jenin, more than 70 Israeli armed vehicles and hundreds of Israeli soldiers stormed the flashpoint city and the neighboring refugee camp, leaving the residents and popular resistance groups with no choice but to defend themselves and confront the occupation forces.

Among those killed by Israeli forces in Jenin was a Palestinian 61 year old woman identified as Majeda Obeid who was killed in her home while performing prayers.

Jenin resident Umm Youssef Al-Sawalmi said homes were hit during the raid. "Windows, doors, walls and even the refrigerator, everything was damaged by the bullets," she said.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad have vowed to respond to Thursday's army raid in Jenin. According to analysts, the Palestinian resistance has a legitimate right to defend itself in face of Israeli aggressions that have been ongoing for decades, with major escalations taking place since the far-right extremist regime headed by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in December.

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