Israel/Palestinian Terr.: Hamas gunfire following IDF strike in Gaza April 11 /update 2

Event

Hamas militants reportedly shot machine guns at an Israeli aircraft after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an airstrike on a Hamas target in the Gaza Strip late on Wednesday, April 11 (local time), triggering rocket sirens in southern Israel. According to Palestinian health officials, one member of the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas' military wing) was killed in the airstrike. While the Hamas machine gun fire did not hit the Israeli aircraft, it did hit a house in Sha'ar HaNegev; no associated casualties were reported. IDF personnel also targeted a Hamas training base in central Gaza; no casualties were immediately reported. Additional tit-for-tat strikes between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters are possible in the coming weeks as the six-week tent city protests continue along the Israel-Gaza border.

Context

The IDF also launched airstrikes on suspected Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip on April 9, targeting an Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades base in Jabaliya, as well as an agricultural area near Beit Lahiya. The strikes were reportedly ordered in retaliation for Palestinians crossing the Israel-Gaza border and planting explosive devices along the security barrier.

The IDF strikes come amid large-scale Palestinian demonstrations in the Gaza Strip, in which dozens of Palestinians have been killed and thousands of others wounded in clashes with Israel Defense Force (IDF) personnel since the six-week tent city protests began on March 30. Smaller related protests have taken place in the West Bank.

In general, the exchange of fire between Israel and the Gaza Strip has intensified since early December 2017. The IDF has retaliated against bomb blasts and the starting of fires in Gaza with tank fire and airstrikes in recent weeks. Several rockets and mortars have also been fired from the Gaza Strip, followed by retaliatory Israeli airstrikes. Although the rockets are often launched by independent groups, the Israeli government holds Hamas responsible and regularly hits Hamas positions in retaliation.

Advice

Individuals present in Israel and the Palestinian Territories are advised to avoid all protests or other public gatherings due to the risk of violence and to monitor developments to the situation. Due to the underlying terrorist threat, travelers in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip are advised to report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities and to remain vigilant when visiting sites deemed particularly likely to be targeted in an attack (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, prominent hotels and restaurants, etc.). As a reminder, several Western governments advise their citizens against all travel to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and areas near the Israeli-Lebanese, Israeli-Syrian, and Israeli-Egyptian borders.