Israeli military strikes Hamas targets in Gaza after rockets

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said it struck Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip early Sunday after militants fired two rockets from the Palestinian territory.

In a statement, the military said fighter jets, attack helicopters and tanks hit Hamas underground infrastructure and military posts. It said two rockets were launched into Israel, with one reaching the southern Israeli city of Ashdod and the other stretching into central Israel.

There were no immediate reports of injuries on either side. The military said the rockets landed in open areas.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility from any militant group in the Palestinian territory.

A number of Palestinian militant groups operate in Gaza, but Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks and typically responds to rocket fire with airstrikes on militant targets.

“I caution the terror groups in Gaza: Even during the coronavirus crisis, don’t try us,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “The price of continuing the aggression will be heavy, very heavy.”

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars and several smaller skirmishes since 2007. Egypt and Qatar have brokered an informal cease-fire in recent years in which Hamas has reined in rocket attacks in exchange for economic aid and a loosening of an Israeli-Egyptian blockade, but the arrangement has broken down on a number of occasions, including on Sunday.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

The Associated Press