Israel/Palestinian Territories: Airstrike in Gaza February 18-19 /update 1

Event

On the night of February 18-19, the Israeli army conducted airstrikes on Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a guided rocket fired from Gaza earlier that day. The rocket hit an open area in the province of Sha’ar HaNegev. No casualties have been reported.

Heightened sociopolitical tensions are expected and additional militant attacks and further Israeli military strikes are possible across the Gaza-Israeli border area in the coming days.

Context

This event comes only a day after Israeli-led retaliatory airstrikes Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militant positions across the Gaza Strip, following a bomb explosion that wounded four Israeli soldiers along the Israeli-Gazan border on February 17. Two Palestinians were killed that same day in an exchange of fire between protesters and security forces near Rafah, in the southern part of the border.

In general, rocket fire and airstrikes between Israel and the Gaza Strip have intensified since early December 2017. At least 20 rockets and mortars have been fired from the Gaza Strip, systematically followed by Israeli airstrikes. Although the rockets are often fired by independent groups, the Israeli government holds Hamas responsible and regularly hits Hamas positions in retaliation.

Advice

Individuals in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip are advised to monitor developments to the situation, remain vigilant for potential militant activity, and avoid all demonstrations due to the risk of violence. A surge in anti-American and anti-Western sentiment has been recently observed in some areas; all travelers, particularly Westerners, are advised to maintain a low profile (e.g. do not discuss sensitive topics, do not stop to take photographs of demonstrations, etc.) and avoid unnecessary movements in the event of unrest.

More generally, 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, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, etc.). As a reminder, some Western governments advise their citizens against travel to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and areas near the Israeli-Lebanese, Israeli-Syrian, and Israeli-Egyptian borders.