Israeli Forces Target Hamas After Projectile From Gaza Hits Country

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have targeted Hamas positions in Gaza in response to an alleged Wednesday attack by Hamas militants, the IDF said in a statement.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Hamas militants fired a projectile earlier on Wednesday, which hit an open area in the southern Israeli Negev desert, according to the IDF.

"In response to last night’s rocket attack from Gaza, IAF [Israel Air Force] targeted 2 Hamas positions in northern Gaza Strip," a Thursday statement on the official IDF Twitter page says.

An IDF spokesperson announced on Wednesday that Hamas militants had fired a projectile that hit an open area in the southern Israeli Negev (Naqab) desert.

Earlier in March, the IDF shelled several sites in the southern Gaza Strip in response to alleged rocket shelling against Israel.

Hamas, an Islamist political and militant group which has been governing the Gaza Strip since 2007, seeks the creation of an independent state of Palestine and wants Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories it has occupied after the 1967 war.

The latest armed conflict between Israel and Hamas took place in 2014, however, the Hamas militants continue firing rockets against Israel, while Israel is targeting Hamas positions in response.