Israeli Army Sends Troops to Gaza Border After Rocket Attack

An Israeli military spokesperson claimed that the rocket attack was carried out by Hamas, adding that the army was set to deploy two brigades and infantry units to the Soutern Gaza area.

A house in the community of Mishmeret, North of the city of Kfar Saba, near Tel Aviv, has reportedly been hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on Monday Morning, wounding seven people and prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut short a trip to the United States.

It set the stage for a potential major conflagration, shortly before Israel's upcoming elections.

Tel Aviv will “respond forcefully” against Hamas after a rocket was launched from inside Gaza into Israel, Netanyahu stressed, according to local media. Shortly after the attack, he talked to the IDF chief of staff, as well as the head of Intelligence, who also saw it “as a criminal act against the State of Israel”.

The prime minister also announced that he will cut short his trip to the United States after the incident, cancelling a planned address to the AIPAC conference and meetings with congressional leaders. Netanyahu is due to meet Trump at the White House for the expected signing of an order recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident.

Tensions between Israel and Hamas have been on the rise in the recent months, amid ongoing confrontations at the fence separating the Palestinian enclave from the occupied territory.

Tensions have been running high in Gaza since late March 2018, when the "Great March of Return" rallies started, demanding the right to return for those driven out of their homeland by Israeli aggression. More than 270 Palestinians have so far been killed and at least 31,000 others wounded in the Gaza clashes.

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